Why are the Nets trading Mikal Bridges to the Knicks? How many draft picks will they get in return?

The Brooklyn Nets have raised plenty of eyebrows around the NBA after trading star forward Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, who hope the latest addition to their roster will help them challenge the Boston Celtics, the 2024 NBA Champions, at the top of the Eastern Conference next season.

Why the Knicks wanted Mikal Bridges

The 27-year-old will join the Villanova reunion in New York, with former college teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo all currently on the Knicks roster.

According to ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, who broke the story on Tuesday, Bridges’ desire to team up once again with the former Wildcats was the reason the Knicks were able to dangle such an attractive carrot in front of the Nets, who were reportedly listening to offers from several teams.

Brooklyn have lost one of the league’s best forwards and one who averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc during the 2023/24 season. On top of that, he never gets injured, playing in all 474 games in his professional career for the Nets and the Phoenix Suns before them.

As a result, Bridges hasn’t come cheap to the Knicks, who have offered up veteran forward Bojan Bogdanović and a whole raft of picks to get their man.

Do the Nets have any 2024 draft picks?

The Nets have lost both of their picks for the 2024 NBA Draft, which comes on the back of a disappointing season. Their 32-50 regular season record saw them finish 11th in the Eastern Conference and miss out on the playoffs for the first time since 2017/18.

How many first-round draft picks have the Nets secured for trading Bridges?

Losing Bridges and having no draft picks doesn’t suggest their fortunes are about to improve in the short term, although they should at least have the opportunity to significantly strengthen their roster in the medium-to-long term.

As part of the trade, the Nets have secured four unprotected first-round draft picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031), a protected first-round pick in 2025 via the Bucks, an unprotected pick swap from the Knicks in 2028, and a second-rounder. All in addition to Bogdanović.

Brooklyn will therefore have 16 first-round picks up until 2031, with four first-rounders in the 2025 Draft, which is expected to be strong, looking an especially smart move. Will it be a question of short-term pain for long-term gain?