Kofi Inkoom
The New York Knicks are trading Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite in a sign-and-trade deal as part of a trade that sent Mikal Bridges to New York and Bojan Bogdanovic going to the Brooklyn Nets.
In return, the Nets will send Keita Bates-Diop to the Knicks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Milton will sign a three-year contract worth $9 million, with the first year above the minimum salary and the next two years non-guaranteed.
The Knicks need to add salary to this deal to avoid hitting the first salary cap apron, as reported by Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Here’s a summary of the reported trade details so far:
– Knicks: Acquire Mikal Bridges, Keita Bates-Diop, and a 2026 second-round pick.
– Nets: Receive Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton (via sign-and-trade), Mamadi Diakite, the Knicks’ 2025 first-round pick, the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected), the Knicks’ 2027, 2029, and 2031 first-round picks, the right to swap a 2028 first-round pick with the Knicks, and the Nets’ own 2025 second-round pick.
The Nets will create a $23.3 million trade exception by absorbing Bogdanovic’s salary into an existing $20.3 million trade exception. Using a trade exception from a previous season imposes a hard cap at the first apron, as does acquiring a player via sign-and-trade (Milton). Therefore, it’s likely the Nets will use the existing TPE for Bogdanovic.
Shake Milton, 27, was a productive bench player for Philadelphia before signing with Minnesota last summer. He was traded to the Pistons before the February deadline, waived, and later signed a rest-of-season deal with the Knicks in early March as a free agent, appearing in only four regular season games.
Diakite, 27,has played for the Bucks, Thunder, Cavaliers, Spurs, and Knicks over his four NBA seasons on various contracts. Also, Bates-Diop, 28, has played for the Wolves, Nuggets, Spurs, Suns, and Nets over his seven-year NBA career.