Knicks make decisive NBA Draft moves after blockbuster trade

The Knicks are trading their No. 24 pick to Washington, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Wizards targeted KyShawn George with the pick. In addition, New York is making a deal to send their No. 26th pick (Dillon Jones) to the Thunder, Wojnarowski reports. New York’s moves are intriguing. It will be interesting to see if their returns on the trades outweigh George and Jones’ value.

After the Indiana Pacers ended the Knicks’ 2024 postseason in the second round, New York made it their mission to improve. The Knicks surrendered four first-round picks to land Mikal Bridges from the crosstown-rival Nets. Bridges’ arrival in Manhattan is significant due to the chemistry he shares with some of New York’s players.

Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart won an NCAA title together at Villanova in 2016. Hart then went to the NBA, but his other three teammates stayed and won another championship together in 2018.

The Knicks went all in on reuniting the former squad to see if they can replicate their feat on the professional stage. When it comes to on-the-court play, Mikal Bridges is nearly a seamless fit.

Through 82 games during the 2023-24 season, Bridges averaged a career-high 19.6 points and shot 37.2 percent on three-pointers. Many fans and analysts expected Bridges to take a larger jump than he did in his first full season with the Nets. However, it understandably took a toll on him to jump from a key role player with the Phoenix Suns to a lead star with Brooklyn. He should excel in his dedicated 3-and-D role with New York.