The Brooklyn Nets stunned the entire NBA landscape on June 25 when they traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for forward Bojan Bogdanovic and a slew of draft picks. However, unlike the trade that the Nets made with the Houston Rockets that same night, the trade of Bridges to the Knicks was not finalized due to some financial issues that New York had to figure out if they were going to be able to make more moves later.
All of that changed on Thursday when the player that the Knicks would be sending back to the Nets for salary-matching purposes was revealed not to be Miles McBride, but Shake Milton. New York was able to make the money work without being capped at the first apron by signing Milton to a three-year, $9 million deal before sending him to Brooklyn along with forward Mamadi Diakite.
While this trade has essentially been finalized for a little over one week, there was still some matters that had to be taken care of behind the scenes in order for it to actually work in a way that benefits both teams. With that being said, here is what the entire trade looks like now that it’s assumed to be finalized along with some additional thoughts.
Nets Receive
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- Bojan Bogdanovic
- Mamadi Diakite
- Shake Milton
- unprotected 1st-round pick in 2025
- unprotected 1st-round pick in 2027
- unprotected 1st-round pick in 2029
- unprotected 1st-round pick in 2031
- unprotected pick swap in 2028
- top-four protected 2025 1st-round pick (via Bucks)
- 2nd round pick in 2025
Knicks Receive
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- Mikal Bridges
- Keita Bates-Diop
- 2026 2nd-round pick
On The Players The Nets Received
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Bogdanovic is clearly the best player of the trio that the Nets received from this trade, but it’s possible that doesn’t matter if he is ultimately dealt to another team for draft capital and/or young players. Bogdanovic could do wonders with his spacing for players like Cam Thomas who could use as much shooting around him as possible to allow his game to shine.
Milton has not done much of note since his days with the Philadelphia 76ers when he probably reached his ceiling as a sixth man off the bench. Last season, he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons before landing with the Knicks where he proceeded to play just 4.5 minutes per game.
Diakite has not seen much action in the NBA since his rookie season in 2020-21 when he played in 14 games for the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, he has been the definition of a journeyman as he has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and San Antonio Spurs before landing in New York.
Draft Capital
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Thanks to this trade, the Nets could have as many as five first-round picks which will do wonders for them whether they are lottery picks or late in the first-round of their respective years. For a rebuilding franchise like Brooklyn, getting as many draft picks and young players as possible is the name of the game right now and the Nets have taken care of business in that department. The Knicks could be going through a reset by 2029 and if that’s the case, those picks would be even more valuable, especially if Brooklyn is able to draft a star with their own picks in the preceding years.
Grade: A
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Essentially, the Nets gained two more players from the time that the trade originally happened to the update of the trade on Thursday. Milton and Diakite will most likely not be a part of Brooklyn’s future so whatever happens with either of them will not change the grade in this. If Milton is able to regain the form that he had with the 76ers, this could become an A+.
