The Mikal Bridges blockbuster trade between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets is finally complete. In addition to the package already reported, the Nets will acquire Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite as part of the deal, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. New York will receive Keita Bates-Diop from Brooklyn alongside Mikal Bridges.

The Nets will give Milton a three-year, $9 million deal as part of a sign and trade. However, the final two years of the deal are non-guaranteed. With the trade finalized, Brooklyn's full haul for Bridges is as follows:

  • Bojan Bogdanović
  • Shake Milton
  • Mamadi Diakite
  • 2025 NYK 1st (unprotected)
  • 2025 MIL 1st (Top-4 protected)
  • 2027 NYK 1st (unprotected)
  • 2028 NYK 1st (swap – unprotected)
  • 2029 NYK 1st (unprotected)
  • 2031 NYK 1st (unprotected)
  • 2025 BKN 2nd

The two teams had been working behind the scenes to complete the deal over the last few days. Due to a clause in the new collective bargaining agreement, teams that receive more money than they send out in a trade are hard-capped at the first apron, a threshold $7 million above the luxury tax line. To avoid this, the Knicks needed to make up the difference between Bogdanović's ($19 million) and Bridges' ($23.3 million) salaries.

However, New York was also prohibited from stacking minimum contracts in a trade. To work around this, the Nets agreed to acquire Milton in a sign-and-trade on a deal slightly above the minimum, allowing the Knicks to add Diakite's minimum salary and clear the amount needed. The tweak will allow New York to spend up to the second apron, freeing up an additional $11 million.

Had the Knicks been hard-capped at the first apron, they would have been forced to fill out their roster using only minimum contracts while dealing with other team-building limitations. Because of this, many speculated that Nets general manager Sean Marks could leverage the situation to acquire another impact player, such as Deuce McBride.

However, according to the New York Post's Stefan Bondy, the two teams agreed as part of the initial deal that New York would not be hard-capped at the first apron. The revised deal offers the Knicks additional financial flexibility while allowing them to keep McBride, who is entering the first year of a tremendous contract (three years, $13 million) after a breakout season. It also completes a historic haul for Kevin Durant on Brooklyn's end.

The Nets acquired Bridges and Cam Johnson from the Phoenix Suns as part of a package for Durant at the 2023 trade deadline. After flipping Bridges to the Knicks, they've turned Durant into nine first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, and three second-round picks. Brooklyn is also expected to field offers for Johnson and Bogdanović, adding to one of the biggest hauls for a single player in NBA history.