The Denver Nuggets wanted to create some clearance around the tax aprons for making moves this offseason. The Charlotte Hornets are in asset-collection mode. That makes them natural partners for a salary-dump.

Here are the particulars:

Denver Nuggets acquire: Cash

Charlotte Hornets acquire: Reggie Jackson, three future second-round picks

Let’s dive in!

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

Denver Nuggets

Incoming salary: None

Outgoing salary: $5.3 million in 2024-25

• Reggie Jackson (PG, one year, $5.3 million)

This trade is super straightforward for Denver. They cleared more than $5 million off their books for next season by salary-dumping Reggie Jackson.

The Nuggets should now have about $8.7 million in room under the first apron. And Denver is about $19.5 million under the second apron.

The main priority for the Nuggets this summer is re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who opted out of his contract for next season. Doing so will take the Nuggets back over the first apron, but could leave them with some wiggle room under the second apron.

Charlotte Hornets

Incoming salary: $5.3 million in 2024-25

• Reggie Jackson (PG, one year, $5.3 million)

Outgoing salary: None

For second time in about a year-and-a-half, the Hornets are eating Reggie Jackson’s contract in a trade. And for a second time, the Hornets will probably waive or buyout Jackson too.

This trade for Charlotte was about renting out some salary space to add three second-round picks. That’s fine for a team that is still in rebuilding mode and collecting as many assets as they can.

The Dallas Mavericks found some much-needed wiggle room under the tax apron. The Detroit Pistons got paid to eat another contract.

Here are the particulars:

Dallas Mavericks acquire: Quentin Grimes

Detroit Pistons acquire: Tim Hardaway Jr., three future second-round picks

Let’s dive in!

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

Dallas Mavericks

Incoming salary: $4.3 million in 2024-25

• Quentin Grimes (SG, one year, $4.3 million)

Outgoing salary: $16.2 million in 2024-25

• Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG, one year, $16.2 million)

This isn’t a straight salary-dump for the Mavericks. Instead, it’s a like a salary-dump-plus.

The primary goal for Dallas in this deal was to knock some money off their cap sheet. Mission accomplished.

The Mavs cleared almost $12 million off the books in this swap. That gives them more than enough clearance under the first apron to use the full Non-Taxpayer MLE now. Using at least $5.2 million of the $12.9 million Non-Taxpayer MLE, or giving out a contract with the MLE for more than two seasons, would hard-cap the Mavericks at the first apron. That’s no longer a real concern.

Dallas can now re-sign Derrick Jones Jr., which was one of their stated goals for this offseason. Giving Jones all of the Non-Taxpayer MLE might be an overpay, but the Mavs want to retain their starting small forward.

But wait! There’s more!

In this trade, Dallas also picked up Quentin Grimes. Grimes will be behind a few other Mavericks to open the season, but he’s a worthy flyer. In his first two seasons, Grimes looked like a developing 3&D shooting guard. Last season was a mess, due to injuries and changes in his role, plus a midseason trade. But Grimes showed he can play previously. That’s worth taking a shot on him in trade.

Trading three second-round picks isn’t really all that big of a worry for Dallas. They seem to be fairly cap-conscious, so they should be able to avoid apron issues for a while longer. And the Mavs can acquire second-round selections down the line, should they need some additional draft capital.

Dallas needed to create clearance under the apron. They did that and got a worthy flyer in the process. That’s a win-win trade.

Detroit Pistons

Incoming salary: $16.2 million in 2024-25

• Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG, one year, $16.2 million)

Outgoing salary: $4.3 million in 2024-25

• Quentin Grimes (SG, one year, $4.3 million)

New Pistons front office executive Trajan Langdon said he was open to using his team’s cap space to eat contracts in exchange for assets. Detroit did that with Langdon’s first big trade.

The Pistons still have more than $51 million in cap space, even after taking on Tim Hardaway Jr. and Wendell Moore Jr. in separate trades this offseason. That’s more than enough cap room to do whatever else Langdon has planned for this summer.

Detroit owner Tom Gores said he wanted to see the team acquire contracts, but for players who can also help. Hardaway can do that. Things went sideways for him in Dallas over the last season-plus, but Hardaway can still shoot. The Pistons are light on shooting, so he could help them quite a bit.

Three second-round picks might cause some to shrug, but Detroit ate “only” $16.2 million in salary in this deal. That’s not enough to get them a first-round pick. However, given how quickly second-round draft picks are moved around the NBA now, it’s good to have the extra currency for use in future trades.

Quentin Grimes didn’t really have a future in Detroit. The Pistons weren’t going to extend him on anything that wasn’t team-friendly. If you aren’t going to extend a rookie scale guy, you might as well trade him and let the next team figure it out.

This move isn’t going to put the Pistons in the playoffs, but it’s a smart use of cap space. Mostly, this is a good start for Trajan Langdon in what will be a very busy summer in Detroit.

With the NWSL secondary transfer window opening in a little over a month, but a majority of european seasons at an end, teams are already being active with their mid-season acquisitions. Although players can be signed and begin practicing at any time, they will be unable to play in any games with their new teams until the window officially opens on August 1st. 

The Orlando Pride kicked off the mid-summer signings adding in Zambian midfielder Grace Chanda who was recently shortlisted for African Women's Footballer of the Year in 2022. Chanda will join the Pride after the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then the Washington Spirit jumped in the mix, transferring English defender Esme Morgan from Women’s Super League (WSL) side Manchester City. North Carolina Courage is the final team who has jumped into the fray, adding a pair of Australians in forward Cortnee Vine and defender Charlotte McLean.

As a reminder, teams are required to have an active roster of between 22 and 26 players. Teams with less than 26 players are able to add players until they hit 26, but it’s important to plan for some of the non-active players to join the active roster in the latter half of the season. 

An in-depth look at the current state of active and non-active rosters

Under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), player salaries cannot be disclosed and so attempting to see where teams sit in their salary cap and whether they can afford certain free agents is almost impossible to predict. The other half of this is the lack of clarity on guaranteed versus semi-guaranteed contracts. 

If teams are looking to add players but are already at 26, they can waive players signed to semi-guaranteed contracts until the official Roster Freeze in October. However, if a player is signed to a guaranteed contract, teams can only waive one of those per season without the buy-out impacting their salary cap. 

Note: North Carolina midfielder Manaka Matsukubo was originally on loan through June 30th, yesterday the Courage announced that the 19-year-old Japanese national had been permanently acquired and signed through the 2025 season. NWSL active roster compliance requires that teams are at or below 26 active players when a player is signed, but in this case Charlotte McLean’s contract doesn’t begin until July 10th, at which point the Courage will have already released national team players to prepare for the Olympics, thereby dropping them back below the limit. Once the national team players return from the Olympics, the Courage will have to make sure they are back at or below 26. 

There isn’t one statistic that tells the entire story of all of the team’s season thus far, and where the midseason investment should come into play, but looking at expected goals against actual goals scored will roughly answer the question of ‘is the attack finishing chances?’ Looking at the expected goals against versus the goals conceded and overall clean sheets roughly answers the question, 'are we letting in more goals than we are expected to?’ 

Team scoring data after match 14 of the regular season

Kansas City is currently leading the league in goals scored and has a positive goals to expected goals, but on the other side of the pitch is also conceding goals more often than they are expected to. Their +17 goal differential is currently only one more than second place in the table Orlando, who is tied on points with only a +16 goal differential. As we saw last season, goal differential can make the difference between whether you have a postseason or not. 

The Courage through game 14 have the greatest differential between how many goals they’ve scored and how many they were expected to, and—with their three signings in the last few weeks—look to be already addressing that.

Seattle is bottom three in both xGA-GA and G-xG which does align with the rough start of the season they have had. Currently 13th out of 14 teams, the hope is that the finalization of the sale boosts how active the Reign can be in the upcoming window. There are already reported rumors from CBS Sports that the team is transferring and signing forward and captain of Haiti Nerilia Mondesir—such an addition would greatly aid a struggling Reign side.

Related:

NWSL Transactions Tracker

The Oklahoma City Thunder dipped into the draft pick treasure chest to effectively buy an additional first-round pick. The New York Knicks added a bunch of future draft capital, while clearing some room under the hard cap.

Here are the particulars:

Oklahoma City Thunder acquired: draft rights to Dillon Jones

New York Knicks acquired: five future second-round picks

Let’s dive in!

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

Oklahoma City Thunder

Part of the reason Sam Presti has been collecting and hoarding draft picks is so that he can move up to get a targeted prospect. That’s exactly what happened here with Dillon Jones.

The Thunder cashed in five second-round picks to move back into the first round to select Jones. Given they still have several additional picks, and they don’t have unlimited roster spots, Oklahoma City will never miss these picks.

As for Jones, the Thunder got a really intriguing prospect. Because Jones played at mid-major Weber State, he’s probably not familiar to a lot of fans, but he can really play. The 6-foot-6 guard was a three-year starter for the Wildcats.

As a senior, Jones’ game went to a new level. He took on increased playmaking responsibility and averaged 5.2 assists per game. That complemented his already solid scoring and rebounding.

In the NBA, Jones is probably more of a secondary creator vs a primary playmaker. If his shot improves, Jones’ ability to play off-ball will be a nice add to the Thunder rotation.

One last note: Jones’ profile looks somewhat similar to that of Jalen Williams. Mid-major star who got better each year, took on more creation responsibility and was a shaky shooter. Picking Williams worked out pretty great for Oklahoma City. There’s a chance they hit again with Jones.

New York Knicks

For the Knicks this was about adding back to their draft pick coffers, while creating financial flexibility. New York traded a total of five of their own first-round picks (four straight picks and a swap) in the deal to acquire Mikal Bridges. As they re-sign their core players, the Knicks are likely to face some second-apron restrictions. Having a bunch of additional second-round picks will help them replace some depth in the coming years, as well as giving them something to put into future trades.

In the immediate, New York cleared an additional $2.6 million in space under the first apron. Given the Knicks may find themselves hard-capped at the first apron as a result of the Bridges trade, that’s a big deal. New York should now have about $6.6 million in wiggle room under the first apron. They could even increase that some too, if necessary.

Creating flexibility under the hard cap is huge for New York. Getting a bunch of draft capital, when they were running a little low, makes this even better for the Knicks.

The Washington Wizards came away with their third rookie in the 2024 draft class. The New York Knicks dropped back momentarily, before moving out of the draft entirely with this pick.

Here are the particulars:

Washington Wizards acquired: draft rights to Kyshawn George

New York Knicks acquire: draft rights to Dillon Jones, 2024 51st overall pick

Let’s dive in!

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

Washington Wizards

After drafting Alex Sarr with the second pick, and adding Carlton Carrington via trade, the Wizards added a rookie wing in Kyshawn George. On a busy night, Washington added players at all three levels.

George was kind of a late-riser, both in-season and during the draft process. The 6-foot-8 wing is mostly a shooter right now. George hit 40.8% of this three-pointers while at Miami. More impressive? 130 of George’s 190 field goal attempts were from behind the arc.

With Deni Avdija traded to Portland and Corey Kispert due for a rookie scale extension, Washington was able to add a replacement wing in George. At the cost of a second-round pick that probably would go to a two-way player, that’s really good work by the Wizards.

New York Knicks

We’ll keep this one quick, because New York didn’t end up keeping the pick that became Dillon Jones.

This trade was mostly about the Knicks snagging an extra second-round pick to move back what was effectively one pick (New York also held the selection in between the two first-rounders moved in this deal.)

In addition, with the Knicks facing some apron and hard-cap issues, they were able to get a more cost-controlled second round pick in this move. That’s a win, given a second first-round rookie wasn’t cracking the rotation in New York anyway.

The Denver Nuggets were rumored to have given a promise to DaRon Holmes II. If that was true, the Nuggets had to move up the draft board to keep that promise. In exchange, the Phoenix Suns dropped back, while adding some much-needed additional draft capital.

Here are the particulars:

Denver Nuggets acquired: draft rights to DaRon Holmes II

Phoenix Suns acquire: draft rights to Ryan Dunn, 2024 56th overall pick, two future second-round picks

Let’s dive in!

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

Denver Nuggets

For a few weeks now, speculation was that the Denver Nuggets promised Dayton big man DaRon Holmes II that he would be their selection with the 28th pick. Denver must have sensed that Holmes wouldn’t get to them, because they cashed in some assets to move up to get their man.

Sitting just ahead of the Nuggets were the New York Knicks. After swinging the big trade for Mikal Bridges and re-signing OG Anunoby, the Knicks were going to find it hard to retain Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. They could have had their eyes on Holmes as a replacement, which may have prompted the Nuggets to jump ahead of them.

Denver needed another big to back up both Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. The hope has been that Zeke Nnaji would seize that role, but injuries and inconsistent play have kept that from happening.

Holmes can fill that role right away. He’s got the size and skill to play either of the big positions. Holmes will be a good finisher around the basket, as well as having the ability to step out and shoot it. He’s also a very good shot-blocker and rebounder.

In order to acquire their new third big, the Nuggets took on a little additional in tax money. It’s not such a meaningful amount to really matter, but it shows good commitment from ownership to keep adding to the team to stay in title contention.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns hit draft week look to come away with some additional draft capital. They achieved that in this trade. Phoenix snagged and extra second-round pick in this draft, which will be helpful given the second-apron restrictions the Suns are operating under.

Of immediate interest is drafting Ryan Dunn. He’s probably the best defensive wing in this draft, and possibly the best defensive player in the draft, period. Dunn will find his way on the court as a rookie, simply because of his defense and rebounding. On offense, Dunn is pretty raw, but the Suns don’t need any more offense.

Phoenix also saved some money off their tax bill by moving back several picks in the draft. Every little bit helps for a team that projects to be one of the most expensive in the NBA next season. And having some additional draft picks to use in future trades is also welcomed.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are going for it. The San Antonio Spurs are still in asset-collection mode. That made them natural trade partners, even if this was for a rookie and not the typical win-now veteran.

Here are the particulars:

Minnesota Timberwolves acquired: draft rights to Rob Dillingham

San Antonio Spurs acquire: 2030 protected first-round pick swap, 2031 protected first-round pick

Let’s dive in!

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

Minnesota Timberwolves

Despite a messy ownership situation, no one can accuse the Timberwolves as going cheap on their team. Minnesota is adding about $6.3 million in salary onto their books by acquiring this additional pick. That projects to take the tax penalties from about $56 million to $87 million for next season.

Both sides of the Wolves ownership fight said they were committed to spending what it takes to keep the team a title contender. This is a sign they aren’t backing off that.

One of the holes Minnesota had to fill was at point guard. The Wolves need a backup for Mike Conley for next season, at least. And they also need a player they can develop long-term.

Enter Rob Dillingham.

The Kentucky guard isn’t a perfect player, but he’s also a 19-year-old developing point guard. What Dillingham can do right now is shoot and score. He put up 15.2 points per game, while coming off the bench and playing in the Wildcats equal-opportunity offense. Dillingham put together 48/44/80 shooting splits.

What’s really exciting is that Dillingham managed to average 3.9 assists in 23 minutes per game. That’s an impressive mark, given the circumstances.

Now, Dillingham gets to learn behind one of the steadiest point guards there is. Conley will help Dillingham learn how to run a team, while also challenging him to improve as a defender.

Yes, Minnesota increased their tax bill by about $31 million for next season. But the Timberwolves now have their point guard of the future and the long-term backcourt running mate for Anthony Edwards. That’s money well-spent, and the fact that the team did it should excite Wolves fans.

San Antonio Spurs

There was a sense in the weeks leading up to the Draft, that the Spurs didn’t want to bring two first-round rookies to an already young roster. They explored trading up, but couldn’t find a trade partner.

Instead, San Antonio took the sort of patient approach that has always served them well. The Spurs added a couple of picks that are far enough out that we have no idea of knowing what the Wolves will be by then. That’s always good business.

In addition, the Spurs wiped $6.3 million off their own books for this summer. That pushes them up to somewhere in the range of $25-$30 million in potential cap space to spend in the offseason. Not a bad night’s work, both in the short- and long-term.

The Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards don’t really scream traditional trade partners, as both are rebuilding teams. But Portland needed to get out of the tax and needed a forward. Washington has room under the tax and needed a point guard. Thus, a trade was born.

Here are the particulars:

Portland Trail Blazers acquire: Deni Avdija

Washington Wizards acquire: Malcolm Brogdon, draft rights to Carlton Carrington, 2029 first-round pick (second-most favorable of Boston, Milwaukee and Portland), two future second-round picks

Let’s dive in!

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

Portland Trail Blazers

Incoming salary: $15.6 million in 2024-25

• Deni Avdija (SF, four years, $55 million)

Outgoing salary: $22.5 million in 2024-25

• Malcolm Brogdon (PG, one year, $22.5 million)

Portland is a rebuilding team. And a bad rebuilding team, at that. Because of that, the Trail Blazers could not stay over the luxury tax line.

When the Blazers made their moves last summer (trading Damian Lillard, re-trading Jrue Holiday), they had to take on some money in those trades. It was too close to the season to find a partner to dump any unwanted salary to. And some of that salary carried for multiple years.

Before this trade, Portland was looking at being a luxury tax team. That’s untenable for a team that won 21 games a year ago and doesn’t project to be a whole lot better this upcoming season.

This trade accomplished getting the Blazers out of the tax. In addition, Portland acquired a pretty good player in Deni Avdija too.

It went unnoticed by many, because he was toiling on a bad team, but Avdija put together his best NBA season last year. And it wasn’t particularly close, either. The really good news? Avdija did this after signing a team-friendly extension, so this wasn’t some sort of a contract push.

Avdija averaged 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists. All were career-highs by a good margin. He also put up 51/37/74 shooting splits, which were also the best marks of his career.

As for his contract, Avdija signed a four-year, $55 million extension last offseason. That deal starts this upcoming season at $15.6 million and declines year-to-year, finishing at $11.9 million in 2027-28. That will be a boon while the Blazers rebuild. One word of caution: If Avdija really pops, it will be very hard, if not impossible, to extend him. Making so little in his final year could make it hard to reach a deal that makes sense for both sides. But that’s a problem to worry about another day.

Portland has a bunch of guards and some bigs. What they don’t have is a lot of proven talent on the forward line, especially not in players that are expected to be around for the long-run. Avdija gives them a 23-year-old versatile wing that can be a part of the future.

It also feels like this is just the start of a busy offseason for Portland. After swinging the Damian Lillard trade so late last offseason, Joe Cronin has a chance to really do some things this summer. The Trail Blazers drafted Donovan Clingan, and he’s going to be their long-term guy at center. That’ll put both Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III on the trade block. The Blazers are also listening to offers for Jerami Grant. And there’s a chance Anfernee Simons and Matisse Thybulle could be moved too.

This is a good first step for Portland to rebalance their roster and cap sheet, even if it did come at the cost of trading away a couple of extra first-round picks.

Washington Wizards

Incoming salary: $22.5 million in 2024-25

• Malcolm Brogdon (PG, one year, $22.5 million)

Outgoing salary: $15.6 million in 2024-25

• Deni Avdija (SF, four years, $55 million)

Like the Trail Blazers, the Wizards are just getting started with their rebuild. They also took on some long-term money last summer, but they were able to stay well clear of the tax. In this trade, Washington got some additional draft capital, while also getting a stopgap point guard for the upcoming season.

Malcolm Brogdon might want to rent vs buying in DC. He may not be there long. Washington is in the midst of flipping their roster. They need a point guard, because Tyus Jones is a free agent and may or may not be back. Brogdon can start or come off the bench. But most likely, he’ll be moved in a subsequent deal to a guard-needy team.

The real gets in this trade for Washington were the draft pick that became Carlton “Bub” Carrington, as well as picking up an additional first-round pick and a couple of second-round picks.

Carrington will step in as a rotation guy pretty quickly as a rookie. He’s not a great shooter, but there’s signs that will improve with time. Carrington is hard-nosed and can defend. He’s a developing playmaker, and he can score. Initially, look for Carrington to play as a combo guard off the bench, but the long-term plan may be to turn him into a point guard.

Avdija is a player the Wizards liked a lot. Washington simply has other guys on the forward line. Kyle Kuzma is still in Washington (for now, at least) and Bilal Coulibaly may end up being more of a forward vs a true wing. Corey Kispert also overlaps with Avdija a little bit too. That made moving Avdija trading from a position of relative strength.

Mostly, Washington traded a nice, but non-star player to get back a veteran guard they can flip, along with some draft picks. They already tabbed one nice player in Carrington. There’s more to come, but the Wizards rebuild is off to a pretty good start.

The New York Knicks are all in on building a team that can defend and match the Boston Celtics. The Brooklyn Nets have leaned fully into a rebuild by trading their best player to their crosstown rivals.

We’re also going to breakdown Brooklyn’s trade of future draft picks with the Houston Rockets here too. While these are two separate trades (the Nets-Rockets trade is already official), it’s unlikely that Brooklyn would have made one deal without making the other one.

Trade 1

Here are the particulars:

New York Knicks Acquire
- Mikal Bridges
- 2026 2nd Round Pick

Brooklyn Nets Acquire
- Bojan Bogdanovic
- 2025 NYK 1st Round Pick
- 2025 MIL 1st Round Pick (protected 1-4)
- 2025 2nd Round Pick
- 2027 NYK 1st Round Pick
- 2028 NYK 1st Round Pick Swap
- 2029 NYK 1st Round Pick
- 2031 NYK 1st Round Pick

(Note: We are analyzing this deal as it has been reported. If the trade is adjusted to include additional players or teams, we’ll adjust the analysis.)

New York Knicks

Incoming salary: $23.3 million in 2024-25
Mikal Bridges (SG/SF, two years, $48.2 million)

Outgoing salary: $19.0 million in 2024-25
Bojan Bogdanovic (SF/PF, one year, $19.0 million)

The Knicks are loading up on wings and they went to a team they hadn’t traded with for over 40 years to get it done. Mikal Bridges has long been a target for New York, even before they started loading up on former Villanova players. That they now have four former Wildcat teammates is a fun bonus.

Bridges is a very good all-around player. He’s a terrific wing defender. Bridges can switch onto point guards and smaller fours. He’s got great hands, quick feet and a pretty strong base. Tom Thibodeau will enjoy employing Bridges on all kinds of players, as well as incorporating his ability to switch too.

On offense, Bridges is good, if a tad overrated. Bridges is an excellent third option, a pretty good second option, but miscast as a primary scorer. When he’s asked to be the primary offensive engine, Bridges loses a lot of his efficiency, and the offense tends to stall out. He can make tough shots, but you’d rather see him getting set up for some easier looks.

That’s where the fit with the Knicks is so good. Jalen Brunson is the Knicks best player. He drives the Knicks offense. The playoffs showed that New York needed to get Brunson some offensive help. Relying on him to create everything wore him down by the time the postseason ended.

Bridges can be that player. Whether he’s the secondary creator, or if he falls in line behind Brunson and potentially-retained Julius Randle, Bridges will really help New York. In addition, his own efficiency should rebound, because Bridges will get to play off Brunson, and possibly Randle. That will make his looks that much more open.

The draft pick outlay was massive for New York. That’s where this trade tips towards the Nets, in terms of initial analysis. New York gave up full control of their draft future. Yes, they have a handful of potential swap rights left in the intervening years, but the Knicks sent almost everything they could to Brooklyn.

It’s also worth noting that this trade likely takes the Knicks out of the running for whoever the next star to hit the market is. They may not have the draft capital to get involved in that kind of deal now.

That leaves a simple question: Is Mikal Bridges worth five picks, plus a swap? Is any single player that isn’t a surefire All-NBA talent worth that much?

Probably not.

If Bridges is your third-best player, you probably have a very good team. If he’s your fourth-best player, you probably have a great team. If Bridges is your second-best player, you might be very good if the best player is an every-year MVP candidate, or your depth is overwhelming.

It’s that second spot where the Knicks probably fall. They are going to be able to put five good to great players on the floor at all times next year. There are a handful of injury concerns across the roster, but nothing that is overly concerning (minus figuring out the center position).

Ultimately, New York had to have made this trade knowing they could keep OG Anunoby. He’ll pair with Bridges as one of the league’s best defensive wing duos. Up front, we’ll see what this means for Randle. He could be on the move, as the Knicks look to balance the roster and the cap sheet. Maybe New York will play big, keep Randle and let things sort themselves out later. That seems like an open-ended question at the moment.

At center, this trade signals that the Knicks might know they are losing Isaiah Hartenstein. Fitting in a re-signed Anunoby and Hartenstein under the first apron would be really tricky. That would like necessitate trading Randle without much, if any, salary coming back.

The reason the first apron matters, is that New York will be hard-capped at the first apron under the current trade terms. Because the Knicks are taking back more salary than they are sending out, that will hard-cap them at the first apron. If the terms adjust and the Knicks send out more salary, then they’ll end up hard-capped at the second apron via aggregating salary in a deal. That would give New York about $11 million more in wiggle room to work with. Either way, keeping both of their key free agents is going to be a difficult task, even for one of the best cap management groups in the NBA.

On the court, Mikal Bridges is a terrific fit for the Knicks. On the cap sheet, things get a little tricky. In the draft pick coffers, things are really light for New York. In every meaning of the phrase, the Knicks took the approach of “in for a penny, in for a pound” with this deal.

Brooklyn Nets

Incoming salary: $19.0 million in 2024-25
Bojan Bogdanovic (SF/PF, one year, $19.0 million)

Outgoing salary: $23.3 million in 2024-25
Mikal Bridges (SG/SF, two years, $48.2 million)

The Nets are rebuilding. It’s not an easy choice, but after the roster faltered last season, it’s the correct one. As good as Mikal Bridges is, he’s not a foundational piece to build around.

Now, Brooklyn has an incredible amount of draft capital. They have a bunch of cap flexibility moving forward too. They also probably aren’t done dealing either.

Bojan Bogdanovic is still a nice player, even as he enters his age-35 season. Bogdanovic can still shoot and can still score. How long he’ll stick in his second go-around in Brooklyn is unknown. The Nets can probably flip Bogdanovic and his expiring $19 million contract (it will become fully guaranteed when the trade is completed) to a contender that needs a bench shooter/scorer. That will bring in yet another asset in terms of a young player or a second-round pick or two.

But this trade isn’t about Bogdanovic. Not even a little bit, really.

This trade was about Sean Marks acquiring six new draft picks. He’s got four straight up from the Knicks coming his way. Plus, a Bucks pick that is very likely to convey, plus a future swap. That’s five years of his crosstown rivals’ draft under Nets control. That’s remarkable.

The Nets still have a lot of roster-shuffling to come, but they could hit next offseason with as much as $80-$90 million in cap space. That’s an incredible amount of spending power to use in signings or trades.

It’s also worth noting that Brooklyn is likely to be pretty bad next season. That will impact their own draft pick, which they swung a move to reacquire from the Houston Rockets. Let’s take a look at that deal now!

Trade 2

Here are the particulars:

Brooklyn Nets acquire: Return of BKN 2025 first-round pick swap rights, return of BKN 2026 first-round pick

Houston Rockets acquire: 2025 first-round pick swap rights (lesser of Rockets or Thunder for Suns), 2027 PHX first-round pick, 2029 first-round pick (more favorable of Mavericks and Suns), 2029 first-round pick swap rights (lesser of Mavericks or Suns)

(Note: Since there is no financial component here, we’ll go right to the analysis!)

Brooklyn Nets

It’s a chicken or egg situation, but the Nets don’t make this swap without having the Mikal Bridges trade locked in. They don’t make the Mikal Bridges trade without having this deal locked in. It was both, or neither.

The Nets know they are going to be a bad team in 2024-25 and potentially 2025-26 too. The 2025 NBA Draft projects to be loaded with talent, with Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper leading the way, among several others. Now, the Nets can bottom out with the full assurance that they have control of their own picks over the next two seasons.

Houston Rockets

There are two schools of thinking for the Rockets side of this trade. The far more fun, and potentially fantasyland, theory is that Houston is lining up to trade the Suns some of their picks back in exchange for Kevin Durant or possibly Devin Booker.

Sure…why not? It’s fun to dream a little!

The Suns have already sent some signals that they aren’t interested in anything that involves trading Durant or Booker. But that could change if the Rockets make a strong enough offer. Houston has young talent and, now, the Suns own picks to offer them. The Rockets could also send a veteran two in a deal for Durant. That’s a pretty appealing package for a team that is stuck in second apron hell for the next few years otherwise.

The other side is far less fun, but a lot more practical. Houston has a lot of kids on their roster already. Some of those young players need to get paid soon. By moving off the near-term Nets picks for the long-term Suns picks, the Rockets balance out the cap sheet a bit. As some of the younger players may be moving on, or some of the vets are aging out, Houston will have picks from Phoenix coming in to replenish their roster.

Yes, you can ask “Why would Houston punt at a chance at Cooper Flagg via the Nets pick?”, but that’s not likely how it would have gone down. If Brooklyn couldn’t string these two deals together, they probably don’t make the trade with New York. Instead, the Nets likely try to add talent around Bridges to chase a playoff spot.

So, for Houston, there’s not much lost here, even if they don’t turn these picks into anything else. They actually gained an additional pick and an additional swap. And, as already stated, they balanced things out a bit for their cap sheet long-term.

But if they can turn those Suns picks (plus additional players/picks) into Kevin Durant, then the Houston Rockets will have flipped from rebuild to solid team to contender in the span of three seasons. That’s pretty good work, almost no matter the outcome.

With the Stanley Cup finals now in the books, the focus now turns to full offseason mode in the NHL, beginning with the upcoming draft (June 28-June 29th), and free agency (July 1st). We’ve identified a few notable pending unrestricted free agents, including projected pricepoints for each.

RELATED LINKS

• 2024 NHL Free Agents
• 2024-25 NHL Team Salary Caps
• Top 2024-25 NHL Cap Hits

Sam Reinhart (C, Florida)

Reinhart posted a (full) breakdown campaign in his walk year with the Panthers: Always a good formula for financial success in sports. A strong postseason capped by a cup-winning goal in Game 7 puts him in conversation to be this year’s best available free agent.

The 28-year-old former #2 overall pick just completed a 3 year, $19.5 million contract in Florida and should have his eyes on Top 15 money this July, with Mitchell Marner’s 6 year, $65M contract ($10.9M per) very much in play.

Jake Guentzel (C, Carolina)

The 29-year-old was rumored to be the big trade chip this past deadline, but the Hurricanes held on instead. He finished the year at a 1.15 point per game clip, and boasts the type of playoff experience that every fringe contending team is looking to add.

Tyler Seguin’s $9.85M per year contract in Dallas should be a good foundation point, but if a team like Chicago wants to get into the mix, look for numbers past $10M per year to get in play.

Elias Lindholm (C, Vancouver)

The 29-year-old just completed a 6 year, $29M contract as a deadline move from Calgary to Vancouver. The overall production has sharply declined (as Calgary depleted the talent around him), so there are red flags attached to him this summer.

But a strong postseason run likely puts him back in the conversation for a Top 25 contract this July. Logan Couture’s $8M per year contract in San Jose seems a proper pricepoint.

Brady Skjei (D, Carolina)

A former Rangers 1st Rounder, Sjkei has spent the last 5 seasons playing out a 6 year, $31.5M contract. He approached the 50 point mark this past season, posting huge numbers across the board (including special teams). There’s a very real world where Skjei becomes the highest paid defender in this year’s class, with Devon Toews $7.25M per year value in Colorado very much in the conversation.

Jonathan Marchessault (F, Vegas)

The 33-year-old posted a career high 42 goals this past season, but the Golden Knights have shown in their young history that they are willing to be aggressive with turnover on an annual basis. Marchessault’s age and likely salary demands could push him into the open market next month.

He’s the perfect candidate to join a young team willing to overpay for surefire production & experience, which could result in a short-term, higher-AAV deal. Will 2 years, $15M take Vegas out of the running?

Also

• Steven Stamkos (C, 34, Tampa Bay)
• Brandon Montour (D, 30, Florida)
• Brett Pesce (D, 29, Carolina)