Did the Nets lose Mikal Bridges trade after the Knicks won NBA title?

The Brooklyn Nets made a significant decision two years ago when they sent guard Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for a bevy of first-round picks. Brooklyn pivoted into a full rebuild after trading Bridges to the Knicks and he went on to win a championship to with New York with one o

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What is the story about?

The Brooklyn Nets made a significant decision two years ago when they sent guard Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for a bevy of first-round picks. Brooklyn pivoted into a full rebuild after trading Bridges to the Knicks and he went on to win a championship to with New York with one of his teammates claiming that the Knicks won the trade.

"The team with the ring," Knicks forward Josh Hart wrote on X when responding to a post asking which side won the deal after two years have past. While many around the NBA believed that the Nets won the trade given how much draft capital they received from New York along with the trade getting them guards Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Knicks became championship contenders

after trading for Bridges given that the team already had guard Jalen Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns leading the way. Once Brooklyn traded away forward Kevin Durant and guard Kyrie Irving during the 2022-23 season, the franchise tried to see what it could do with Bridges and forward Cam Johnson in the fold, but the result was not playoff-level basketball.

Once the Nets traded Bridges away, the organization could proceed with its rebuild with plenty of draft capital and young players to hopefully speed up the process in the meantime. With Bridges in New York, the Knicks won on to win the championship this past season, the same campaign where the Nets finished the year with a 20-62 record that led to them getting the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

While Brooklyn would like to win a championship at some point in the near future, they will have to work for the opportunity to either attract a superstar or get lucky enough to select one in the draft. Bridges had arguably the best stretch of his career during his time in Brooklyn, but it's clear that the deal worked out for him, the Knicks, and Hart, all at the same time.