If New York executes the Bridges trade in July, they can include smaller salaried players like Jericho Sims and one of the players on minimum contracts to avoid being hard-capped at the first apron.

If New York executes the Bridges trade in July, they *can include smaller salaried players like Jericho Sims and one of the players on minimum contracts to avoid being hard-capped at the first apron (*this depends on the interpretation of the CBA in relation to Sims' contract, as Ryan Bernardoni notes)

MANHATTAN BRIDGE

Both the Knicks and Nets had known for some time that Bridges ultimately wanted to be a Knick. Did he demand a trade in the traditional sense? No. But the Nets knew where Bridges stood ahead of Tuesday’s trade. It was communicated to them as trade talks picked up.

And they were aware that Bridges could essentially control where he was traded by telling teams that he planned to sign with the Knicks as a free agent. Bridges’ side planned to do just that, as SNY reported late Tuesday.

Still, the Nets were under no obligation to move Bridges any time soon. They could have let the situation play out this season and next and see if Bridges’ thinking shifted.

But the Knicks’ offer was probably far and away the best they’d received on Bridges. So Nets top basketball exec Sean Marks put the optics of helping the Knicks aside and made the best trade for his team.

The Knicks obtained the player they had long coveted, a player that wanted to be in New York to reunite with his teammates.

Did the Knicks give up too much draft capital for Bridges? We won’t know the answer to that for a few years. If the trade works out well, the Knicks’ picks in the immediate future will be toward the back of the first round. And the Knicks have added one of the top young wing defenders in the NBA without having to worry about his fit in the locker room.

"You can’t buy chemistry," is how one executive put it late Tuesday night. Bridges will obviously fit seamlessly into the chemistry/culture that’s already been established in New York.

AVOIDING THE APRON

Bridges’ contract ($48 million over the next two seasons) is a great value as the cap continues to rise. If Brunson decides to sacrifice significant money by signing his extension this offseason, it will give the Knicks plenty of wiggle room to stay under the dreaded second apron of team salary.

Beginning in 2024-25, teams over the second apron lose access to any midlevel exception. They also are prohibited from combining multiple player salaries in a trade.

Second-apron teams also can’t send cash to help get deals over the finish line; they can’t trade their first-round pick seven years into the future.

Obviously, this is a place the Knicks want to avoid. Bridges’ contract should help them accomplish that over the next two seasons. If Brunson signs his extension and forgoes the money he could make in free agency, it would put New York in even better position to avoid that second apron.

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