The Empire State Building lit up blue and orange on Tuesday night to officially celebrate the Mets’ victory, but just minutes after news broke that New York had sent a whopping five first-round draft picks across the East River to finally part ways with defensive anchor Mikal Bridges, the lights began glowing the same colors for the Knicks.
Rival teams have sensed Brooklyn’s growing willingness to part ways with Bridges in recent days, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Utah and Houston were the other two teams league sources said were actively involved in acquiring Bridges. The Nets offered Bridges up to four first-round draft picks in previous trade cycles, all of which he turned down, sources said. And until Monday, none of Brooklyn’s negotiations with those three teams or others were considered serious, sources said. But league sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports that the situation remains the same until the Knicks return with four unprotected first-round picks starting in 2025, a protected first-round pick from the Bucks, and Brooklyn’s right to swap a first-round pick with New York in 2028.
All of this amounts to a total of six years’ worth of draft capital. It’s one of the biggest (if not the biggest) paybacks for a non-All-Star in NBA history. Bridges is probably more valuable to the Knicks than any other team. Villanova University has a chance to acquire a fourth Wildcat after a three-year run with Jalen Brunson, who won national titles in 2016 and 2018. Bridges is also one of the best options New York could have found to counter Boston’s two-way wings, who won this year’s championship. Sources say Bridges has always had his eye on New York, especially since the Knicks acquired Donte DiVincenzo last summer following the February 2023 trade deadline that landed Josh Hart. The ties to these Wildcats run deep, with Kyle Lowry even being mentioned by NBA figures as a free agent target for New York, sources say.
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