Tag: New York Knicks

Mikal Bridges trade grades: Who won the Knicks – Nets deal?

Who won the Mikal Bridges trade between the Knicks and Nets?

The New York Knicks might already have the offseason of the summer going with their trade of Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges.

The Bridges trade reunites Bridges with his Villanova teammates, guards Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, giving New York a formidable quartet to help push for a title.

The Nets, however, received a king’s ransom of picks to help rebuild Brooklyn after its super team hopes crashed and burned a couple of years ago.

This really might be the rare trade where both sides are huge winners, so let’s break down how this trade went and why it’s truly beneficial to both sides.

Trade details: 

The Knicks get: F Mikal Bridges

The Nets get: 4 unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks, an unprotected pick swap, a second-round pick and forward Bojan Bogdanović

Jeremy Reper/USA TODAY Sports

New York Knicks

Let’s not waste any time saying what an absolute slam dunk this is for New York. The Knicks got close to making the 2024 NBA Finals this past season, and Bridges rejoining his old Nova buddies gives New York the elite defensive push to help potentially keep a team like the Boston Celtics in check come playoff time. Bridges will join the Knicks with an established chemistry with its stars, and the team will be one of the most purely enjoyable rosters in the NBA to watch play this fall. For a team trying to bring a championship back to the Big Apple, this is the kind of aggressive move you make to get there. This is just a gigantic win for the Knicks.

Trade grade: A

Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

Brooklyn Nets

Unlike their crosstown compatriots, the Nets are nowhere near contending shape right now, which made sending Bridges out for an absolute haul so enticing. With Bogdanović a likely reroute candidate, Brooklyn can rest easy knowing it got so many first-round picks back from New York to build for the future. Plus, this makes the Kevin Durant trade all the more successful for the Nets, as Bridges was the centerpiece to make that transaction work. The Nets might not be very good next year, but they’ll have a chance to bottom out for a much better 2025 NBA Draft class. With Bridges traded, the rebuild really can begin in Brooklyn. 

Trade grade: A

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Report: Nets trade Mikal Bridges to Knicks for five first-round picks; Bojan Bogdanovic

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Brooklyn Nets are trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for five first-round picks.

The Brooklyn Nets and Mikal Bridges were viewed as a pairing that would go on for years until the franchise found the star to pair with Bridges. However, after plenty of reporting of Brooklyn not being willing to trade Bridges away for any offer, it looks like they were just driving up the price for their most valuable player.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Tuesday, the Nets agreed in principle to send Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for forward Bojan Bogdanovic, five first-round picks, an unprotected pick swap and a second-round pick. Four of the five first-round picks are unprotected while the first-round pick from the Milwaukee Bucks is protected.

“The Knicks are sending four unprotected picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031) a 2025 protected Milwaukee first, a 2028 unprotected pick swap and a 2025 second-round pick for Mikal Bridges and a 2026 second-round pick,” Wojnarowski wrote on X.

While there had been some rumors of the Knicks being one of the teams periodically checking in with Bridges, it looks like they were doing more than just checking in.

This trade signals that the Nets are entering a full rebuild as Bridges was their best player, but seemed to be someone that was valuable to the team as a trade piece as opposed to having on the team for the time that Brooklyn was ready to win again.

It should be noted that while Aran Smith of NBADraft.net reported that the Nets could be one of the teams going after one of the Knicks’ two first-round picks they have in the upcoming NBA Draft, they did not acquire any capital in this Draft as of yet.

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Mikal Bridges was traded to the Knicks and NBA fans celebrated the Villanova reunion

The Villanova Knicks have finally arrived.

The New York Knicks really are getting the Villanova team back together.

Tuesday night’s pre-2024 NBA Draft bombshell trade sent Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges to the Knicks in exchange for a flurry of picks, including four unprotected first-round picks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Of course, Bridges played college basketball at Villanova with Knicks stars like guard Jalen Brunson, guard Josh Hart and guard Donte DiVincenzo.

Now, they’ll all reunite in the Big Apple and try and help win the Knicks an NBA title. What a cool sequence of events to get the band back together for these college teammates.

NBA fans loved seeing the Villanova guys get back together with the Knicks, feeling that the potential for these four reuniting is astronomical.

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Most recent Notre Dame players to be NBA draft selections

All of these players did the Irish proud before making the jump.

Nobody on Notre Dame’s veteran-laden team from this past season will be selected in Thursday’s NBA draft. In fact, given the inexperience across the board on the upcoming season’s roster and under a new coach no less, it could be quite a while before we see another Notre Dame player drafted. On the bright side, that means no early departures except via the transfer portal. Then again, it sure would be nice to have NBA-ready talent in South Bend.

The only way to deal with a challenging present and short-term future is to look to the past. In this case, the way to go about that is to look at former players who heard their names called on draft night over the past several years. Of the 62 former Notre Dame players who have suited up in the NBA or ABA, 41 have entered professional basketball via the draft. Here are the most recent ones:

Report: Nets’ Mikal Bridges inquired about by Jazz, Rockets, and Knicks

Per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges’ trade availability is being monitored by the Utah Jazz, among others.

The Brooklyn Nets are one of the teams that have different ways that they can go when it comes to their rebuilding process from this point on. One of the players that Brooklyn has been adamant about holding on to is catching attention from teams other than the Houston Rockets these days.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, Nets guard Mikal Bridges’ trade status is being monitored not only by the Rockets, but by the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz as well. As many Nets fans know, Bridges is a player that plenty of teams have been trying to trade for ever since he came to Brooklyn in the 2022-23 season as a result of the Kevin Durant trade.

“So, what could be the next big swing on the Jazz’s radar? Brooklyn Nets swingman Mikal Bridges, according to league sources, is a player to monitor among Utah’s most aggressive aspirations,” Fischer wrote. “The Jazz are said to be right in the mix with Houston, holding the No. 3 pick, and New York, where three of Bridges’ college teammates currently play, among the teams that continue to check with Brooklyn about the availability of its 27-year-old swingman.”

Houston has seemed like a natural trade partner for the Nets given that they have control of all of Brooklyn’s picks for the next few years due to the James Harden trade. From what Fischer writes, it seems that Utah is looking to add a player that can play along aside forward Lauri Markkanen and that the Knicks are trying to have Bridges be the last piece of their championship puzzle.

Either way, the Nets have been clear since they brought Bridges to Brooklyn that they are not trading him, even for the best of offers from opposing teams. The Nets have made it clear that want Bridges on the team for whatever they plan to do for the future, rebuilding or competing for a title.

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Where did Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski go in The Athletic’s new NBA mock draft?

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie released a new NBA mock draft on Thursday morning and paired two former Blue Devils with two big teams.

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie released a new NBA mock draft on Thursday and paired former Duke basketball stars [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] with two recent playoff heavyweights.

Vecenie put McCain on the Philadelphia 76ers (a team that is becoming a popular destination for the sharpshooting 20-year-old) before Filipowski went 24th to the New York Knicks.

McCain, who made more than 41% of his 3-pointers last season and scored at least 30 points twice in four NCAA Tournament games, wowed fans and scouts at the combine with his shooting display. He’s earned comparisons to the Currys, two-time MVP Steph and former Blue Devil Seth, for his form and consistency from behind the line.

Vecenie pointed out that McCain averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists during his final 28 games.

“Over the last two-thirds of the season, McCain was one of the best freshman scorers in high-major college basketball,” Vecenie wrote. “He made 41.6 percent of his 6.4 3-point attempts per game during that span and consistently got into the lane in transition or when driving closeouts. I also thought he improved drastically on defense over his final 15 or so games.”

Filipowski, a 7-footer who can participate in the offense as a ball-handler and distributor, earns first-round hype for his particular skillset. He made nearly 35% of his 3-pointers.

“(Filipowski) carried the Blue Devils through long stretches of games with his ability to catch the ball on the block and score,” Vecenie wrote. “But pro scouts are more intrigued by his well-rounded perimeter game.”

The NBA draft begins on June 26.

Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski go to big-market East Coast NBA teams in ESPN mock draft

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo released a new mock draft on Wednesday, and the two available Duke players went to some iconic teams.

ESPN released a new NBA mock draft on Wednesday, one week before the opening round of the 2024 draft.

Writers Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo paired 58 prospects with specific spots in the draft, and both Duke players on the board went in the first round to some iconic franchises from the Northeast.

[autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag], the freshman who shot 41.4% from 3-point range and finished with three 30-point games as a debutant last season, went first to the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th overall pick.

The prediction would pair him with 2022-23 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and 2023-24 Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey as the Sixers try to reach a summit that has eluded them for the past decade: the Eastern Conference finals.

“As an excellent shooter with impressive intangibles that have bolstered his case in the short and long term, McCain is well-prepared for an NBA adjustment and could be on a faster track to making an impact than your typical freshman,” Woo wrote.

[autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] went eight picks later to the New York Knicks with the 24th pick. A 7-footer who made the Second Team All-American squad as a sophomore averaged more than 16 points and eight rebounds per game, but his 2.8 assists per game make him an intriguing first-round prospect.

“Filipowski’s ability to handle, pass and shoot is difficult to come by at 7-foot, and the dearth of versatile bigs who can play inside and out will surely be attractive to a team picking in this range,” Givony wrote.

The NBA draft gets underway on June 26.

Kendrick Perkins suggests Anthony Davis should join the Knicks

Former NBA player and current ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins feels Anthony Davis may be better off on the Knicks than with the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are embarking on what will be a pivotal offseason for them. Their first item of business is to hire the right head coach, and they will then have to tweak and upgrade their roster in order to attempt to become true championship contenders next season.

There have been reports that the Lakers will prioritize Davis over LeBron James in their search for a head coach. There have been plans for a few years to shift the burden of the team from James over to Davis, and it appears that those plans may get accelerated soon.

While speaking with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, former NBA center and current ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins suggested that if Davis doesn’t like L.A.’s coaching hire, he should look to go to the New York Knicks.

“The only thing that I’m keeping my eye on is I’m monitoring that Lakers situation: Anthony Davis. John Calipari. William ‘Worldwide Wes’ Wesley. The Kentucky days. We heard the rumors — then Rich Paul sat down with the front office and they made amends after not communicating and all that? We don’t know what’s about to go down in L.A., right? JJ Redick might be the frontrunner for that job. I don’t know. If you’re AD you got to see how that [expletive] look first. I gotta see how it look. JJ you’re here to make me look good? Are you here to benefit me or what? If not, I’m bouncin’ and New York is the place. They got the picks, they got the assets and guess what? AD in Madison Square with Beef and Body [Jalen] Brunson, you know what I’m sayin’? Stop playin’. Stop playin’! You like it! See everybody’s not thinking about AD. I am! If you’re AD you’re looking at it like, Hold on man. Ok cool, what we doin’ and who we hiring? What you doin’ here? Who you here for? You here for me?”

The Knicks suddenly have the makings of a championship contender after two decades of ineptitude. Brunson has taken the Big Apple by storm, and they have intriguing and productive complementary players in OG Anunoby, Miles McBride, Donte DiVincenzo and former Laker Josh Hart.

What the Knicks may not have is a true second star. If they decide Julius Randle isn’t capable of being that man, they could look to make a big move this summer.

However, the chances of the Lakers even considering a Davis trade seem slim to none right now.

Arenas: LeBron James’s big three originally wanted to play for the Knicks

How would things have turned out differently in NBA history had LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh gone to the Knicks in 2010?

When LeBron James joined the Miami Heat in 2010 and took Chris Bosh with him, it shattered the NBA’s landscape in more ways than one.

The Miami trio of James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade were immediately hailed by some as the greatest collection of superstar talent in NBA history. Amidst an unprecedented amount of hype and anticipation, the Heat fell hard in the 2011 NBA Finals, only to claim the next two world championships.

The three luminaries were reportedly planning to team up for a few years in advance. However, according to Gilbert Arenas, they were originally looking to join forces on the New York Knicks.

Unfortunately for them, Knicks owner James Dolan made a fatal mistake that torpedoed the team’s chances of landing the three superstars (h/t Heat Nation).

“When Dwyane Wade, Bosh and LeBron decided to team up, they was not playing in someone city so they can all be fresh,” Arenas said of the trio’s intentions to join forces in New York. “So they were planning on going to New York together. And what happened is because they didn’t tell anyone, Dolan made a mistake by paying Amar’e Stoudemire.

“They didn’t want to play with Amar’e Stoudemire because they had they own goddamn Big 3. So, because New York [expletive] it up, they called Micky [Arison] and say, ‘Hey, Micky. This is what we wanna do. Can you make it happen?’ And then made it work — if you knew what was going on then, you would have known New York dropped the ball because of — they offer Mike Miller all that money because they knew Mike Miller was part of the group. Miami stole him. [Udonis] Haslem rejected his deal once he got wind — took the pay cut, signed last to come back. They were all moving together.”

At the time, the Knicks had been laughingstocks for several years. Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing had left in 2000, and since then, they had made the playoffs twice while failing to get past the first round.

Landing James, Bosh and Wade would’ve instantly restored the Knicks’ credibility and dignity. Instead, they would have to struggle for another decade while fans kept calling for Dolan to sell the team.

Luckily, now New York has a very good team with a real soul and identity that seems to have the beginnings of a potential championship contender. But it could’ve recast the basketball world’s spotlight on itself a while back while allowing James to possibly become the toast of the Big Apple.

Rumor: OKC Thunder have real interest in Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein

Report: OKC Thunder has real interest in Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein.

The Oklahoma City Thunder enter the 2024 offseason with over $35 million in cap space to spend. Coming off a top-seed finish and a Round 2 exit, OKC is better equipped than most to make some serious upgrades.

The Thunder are reportedly a serious threat to sign Isaiah Hartenstein away from the New York Knick. The New York Post broke the possibility on Monday.

“‘It’s real,’ an NBA source said of OKC’s interest in Hartenstein… One league source speculated the Thunder would offer a short-term deal (such as two years) with a high salary, providing both sides with long-term flexibility.”

If this materializes to reality, Hartenstien offers a quick fix to the Thunder’s size and rebounding woes. OKC was 27th in the league in rebounds per game this past season. A lack of a true backup big limited its lineup flexibility.

Hartenstein had a breakout year last season with the Knicks. He took over the starting center spot for them once Mitchell Robinson went down and was a starter for 49 out of 75 games.

The 25-year-old averaged 7.8 points on 64.4% shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. His 18.5% rebound rate would’ve easily ranked first among OKC’s regular rotation players.

If the Thunder adds Hartenstein, it will likely be on a bloated short-term deal. He could command $20 million a season, which means OKC would likely have to spend most of its cap space on the veteran center.

If they sign Hartenstein to a two-year deal, it’ll align perfectly for when the extensions of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams likely kick in. This could make for a clean divorce between the two parties as OKC’s payroll will get very expensive, very soon.

It’d be a good fit on the court. Hartenstein was the Knicks’ starting center all playoffs and put up decent numbers. He’d be a legit lob threat and can be a great pick-and-roll partner. He’s also a decent passer and can keep the ball moving. The outside shot is nonexistent but that’s a decent price to pay for the defensive tandem of himself and Holmgren.

The Thunder have plenty of money to spend this offseason, overpaying for a position of need on a short-term deal is a sound strategy considering they smashed open a championship window last season.

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