Breaking: Knicks makes money-saving deal to add another mega star…..
To maintain roster-building flexibility and complete the Mikal Bridges trade, the Knicks made a few crucial decisions.
Mikal Bridges will ultimately be acquired by the New York Knicks from the Brooklyn Nets any day now. Making the trade financially feasible for New York required some extra steps, but it will pay off with the addition of a very skilled starter and another Villanova standout.
The Knicks were able to complete the transaction without capping themselves at the first apron by include Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite of New York and Keita Bates-Diop of Brooklyn (while also giving them a solid depth piece in KBD). They managed to reduce payroll without having to trade important bench member Miles McBride. They saved some money by signing their first-round draft pick from last month’s draft in addition to adding more players to the trade.
Pacome Dadiet, a first-round pick, was signed by the Knicks for less money than anticipated. The young French talent will sign a deal at 80 percent of the rookie scale, which is the lowest a rookie contract can go, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. This will keep New York $904,000 under the first-round hard restriction. In his debut season, Dadiet will earn little more than $1.8 million, and his rookie contract has a four-year worth of slightly less than $9.3 million.
In order to release Dadiet from his contract with Ratiopharm Ulm of Germany, the Knicks paid them $850,000. This allowed them to sign the 25th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Dadiet, a 6-foot-9 forward who turns 19 later in July, is extremely raw and probably a few years away from being ready for meaningful minutes, but he has an excellent shooting touch and might be a solid wing in the NBA.
Knicks make important adjustments to enable Mikal Bridges’ trade with the Nets.
New York, which is banking on Dadiet’s youth and large body, will be quite happy with any output he puts up over his first few NBA seasons. Perhaps the best wing rotation in basketball will reside at Madison Square Garden for the upcoming few seasons. Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Bridges will be difficult to manage.
After losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Knicks’ astute maneuvers have given them the $5.2 million taxpayer mid-level exception to add another player and sufficient freedom to sign Precious Achiuwa again as an unrestricted free agency.
The Knicks have added another excellent defender and three-point shooter in Bridges, especially with the Boston Celtics still in the lineup and the Philadelphia 76ers having signed Paul George. But Mitchell Robinson, whose capacity to stay fit has been questionable in recent years, becomes a major liability for New York after Hartenstein’s departure. Bridges will partially offset the value that Hartenstein’s departure has taken away.
