The Knicks are sending Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite to the Nets to finalize the Mikal Bridges trade, a move that will allow them to avoid a $178 million hard cap of their team salary, sources say.
New York will send Milton to Brooklyn in a sign and trade. Milton will sign a three-year deal worth $3 million in the first season.
The Knicks will also send Diakite to the Nets in the trade. New York guaranteed $1.23 million of his 2024-25 salary to make the math work in avoiding the $178 million hard cap, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Here’s a final look at the overall trade.
In the initial Bridges trade, the Knicks were sending out more money than they were receiving. In the new collective bargaining agreement, this would have prevented them from spending above $178 million in team salary ($178 million is the first apron).
By adding the players to the Bridges trade, New York ensures that it will send out more money than it receives. This allows the club to avoid the first apron hard cap. New York is now hard-capped at the $189 million second apron.
The Knicks also acquired Keita Bates-Diop in the trade. But since he is on a minimum contract, Bates-Diop does not count toward salary purposes.
The club currently has roughly $172 million in team salary, per Marks. So they now have a much bigger cushion between their team salary and the hard cap. This should help them fill out the roster. New York now can use its full tax payer midlevel exception ($5.2 million).
The Knicks still need to find a backup center to replace Isaiah Hartenstein, who signed with Oklahoma City at the start of free agency.
Details of Saturday’s trade were first reported by The Athletic.
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