The New York Knicks reportedly have acquired forward Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and a litany of draft picks, including four unprotected first-round picks.
Bridges' desire to play for the Knicks played a big factor in the deal, but it certainly didn't come without a price. New York is sinking significant draft capital into this deal, a sign that it feels it is time to go all in. New York has the early Bird rights to Hartenstein, but it can only offer him a maximum of four years and $72.5 million this offseason. It's possible he could receive a bigger offer from another team to pry him from New York.
According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, New York is now hard capped at the first apron unless it can send out more salary in the deal. There are avenues for the Knicks to take to do so, such as guaranteeing deals of players like Mamadi Diakite and Daquan Jeffries, but as the trade stands now, New York is taking on more salary than it is sending out.For New York not to hard cap themselves at the 1st apron, Jeffries and Diakite will need to be included.