It’s been nine days since the Boston Celtics captured their 18th NBA championship, and we’ve already seen the first major move from a team hoping to take them down next season.
Tuesday’s late-night “Woj Bomb” sent the NBA Twitter/X community into a frenzy, as fans learned that Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges was being traded to the New York Knicks for Bojan Bogdanovic and ALL of the picks.
The Knicks’ first-rounders in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031, a second-rounder in 2026, an unprotected pick swap in 2028, and the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick all belong to the Nets now.
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, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/E4pTq3wCMP
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2024
In return, Bridges will join three of his former Villanova teammates, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart, on a New York team that logged the second-best record in the Eastern Conference this past season.
If the Knicks can retain free-agent forward OG Anunoby this summer, then they will have tailored their roster to try and best defend Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the rest of the Celtics.
The Knicks are still determined to keep OG Anunoby in free agency, sources tell ESPN, but the ability to resign center Isaiah Hartenstein becomes more difficult now. The Knicks are loading up on wings to match up with the NBA champion Boston Celtics.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2024
This is simply what happens when a team wins a title. Other teams in the conference have to mortgage their near-futures in order to even hope that they can hang. Despite what all of the Knicks fans would’ve told you, Boston handled their team all season long.
The Celtics took four of the five matchups against New York, only dropping an early April meeting at TD Garden, for which they didn’t even get off of the bus. Of course, Knicks fans treated this like a championship clincher.
Though they didn’t beat Boston, they managed to beat up on just about everyone else in the second half of the season. Anunoby made a huge impact as a trade-deadline addition, the Knicks continued to play stifling defense, and Brunson spearheaded their offensive production.
You would’ve thought that they had won the title with the several championship parades their fanbase held after playoff games. Ultimately, that didn’t happen. They went crashing out in the second round, after a Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden.
It wasn’t for nothing, though.
New York’s finish to the year would’ve inspired any front office to go out and find the missing piece to a potential title contender.
They have officially made their attempt with Bridges.
The move certainly equips them with the personnel to match up with Boston’s stars. Both Bridges and Anunoby have the length and defensive prowess to cause headaches for Tatum and Brown, not to mention that Hart and DiVincenzo are pests as well.
Bridges also adds another offensive option to New York’s offense. It was clear that he didn’t quite have the game to be a strong No. 1 option in Brooklyn, but he showed some shot-creating ability, and his three-point shot has been steady for his entire career. The 27-year-old will be able to serve as a secondary creator and scoring option behind Brunson, adding another dimension to his new squad’s offense.
From a Celtics perspective, this isn’t the end of the world, but it does make it far more difficult to completely key in on Brunson, as many teams did last season. Boston is still equipped with top-tier defenders like Tatum, Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, who can stick with both Brunson and Bridges on the perimeter. Not to mention that Kristaps Porzingis (at some point) and Al Horford will be helping to protect the rim.
At this point, it’s not clear what the Knicks plan to do with former All-NBA forward Julius Randle, but if he’s around he’ll be another scoring threat — even though his playstyle consists of a lot of fumbling around before taking a difficult shot.
One player that it sounds like will not be a Knick next season is Isaiah Hartenstein. For Boston, this is pretty good news. Hartenstein was a huge part of New York’s inspired play in 2024. He served as a reliable offensive outlet and was a FORCE on the glass.
Against the Cs last year, he averaged nearly five offensive rebounds, to go along with 6.4 points per game.
There’s a ton of offseason left, but ahead of the NBA Draft, it feels like the Knicks are going to be a top-heavy squad. They’ll have a strong six, then it’ll get cloudy from there. Of course, there are ways around it, like trading Randle for depth or drafting well.
At this point, the Bridges trade makes them a clear second in the East, but it doesn’t quite bring them to Boston’s level just yet.
I also wouldn’t be shocked if the Knicks were in town for Banner/Ring Night in October, since their fans so desperately “wanted Boston.”
