Breaking Down the Nets Draft Picks After a Crazy Night of Trades

Brooklyn made major moves, and it fully invests them in the draft.

Jan 23, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges (1) attempts a three point shot against New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets made franchise-altering trades Tuesday night. The first bomb came at 9:58 p.m., when Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN announced that the Knicks agreed to trade Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks, a pick swap, and a second-round pick for Mikal Bridges.

The next move came minutes later, as the Nets traded the Phoenix Suns' 2027 first-round and right to swap Houston's or OKC's 2025 first for 2025 Suns first-round pick. The Suns' 2027 pick was highly coveted, but Brooklyn gets some of their own draft capital that they lost in making the trade for James Harden back in 2021.

Sean Marks was able to get compensation back for failing to bring the Nets a championship after they acquired Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019. They now have 13 first-round picks in six years, including three in 2025's highly-touted draft. The class will feature big names such as Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, and Dylan Harper.

The Nets' first-round picks after the Knicks and Rockets deals:

2025 (own)
2025 via MIL
2025 via NYK
2026 (own)
2027 via NYK
2027 via PHI (Top-8 protected)
2028 via PHX (swap)
2029 via NYK
2029 (own)
2029 via DAL
2030 (own)
2031 via NYK
2031 (own)

Shams reported Brooklyn…

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) June 26, 2024

All of these picks will likely fall to Brooklyn. Philadelphia's top-eight protected pick in 2027 would only go to the 76ers if they had a major blowup, and the Bucks' pick in 2025 is guaranteed to be in the Nets' favor, as it's protected on picks one through four.

After months of being directionless and turning down trades that would set up the Nets for success down the road, there is a vision in Brooklyn. The Nets have gone into a full rebuild by trading Bridges and getting their picks back. If their offseason ended right now, it would be considered a big one, but free agency hasn't even started, and we still don't know what the front office will do about 25-year-old Nic Claxton hitting the market.

The Bridges-Knicks deal was a win-win for both sides. The Knicks are one of the best two-way players in the NBA, pushing themselves closely into championship contention, while the Nets start from scratch, going into 2025 as one of the richest teams in the NBA when it comes to picks. As for right now, it looks like the team will hand Cam Thomas the keys.

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