The New York Knicks agreed to a trade with their inter-city rivals, the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets traded away Mikal Bridges, sending him to the Knicks. The hosts on the Pat McAfee Show talked about the bold and surprising move, as Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton joined them.
Advertisement
They discussed that this trade was made to defeat the Indiana Pacers. Whereas, some claimed it was done to defeat the Boston Celtics instead. Both teams are Knicks’ rivals in the Eastern Conference. As a matter of fact, it was the Pacers who knocked out the Knicks in the 2024 Playoffs. However, while discussing the trade, Haliburton said:
“I’m excited to see those guys together…We’re all friends… It’s true…We have a group chat… I have a group chat with those guys. So, it’s me, Mikal, Josh, and Jalen. So, if there’s any tampering evidence needed, I’m the guy to come to.”
Haliburton revealed he had a group chat with Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson. All three players were part of the 2016 Villanova championship team. Hence, while looking at this trade, one might feel that this works well in the favor of New York.
As per Adrian Wojnarowski, “The Brooklyn Nets have agreed in principle on a trade to send F Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick via Bucks, an unprotected pick swap and a second-rounder.”
BREAKING: The Brooklyn Nets have agreed in principle on a trade to send F Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick via Bucks, an unprotected pick swap and a second-rounder, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/TEGsIpoa3b
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2024
If talking about tampering, the Knicks parted ways with numerous draft picks to bring in Mikal Bridges. So, the chances of any such thing do not seem likely.
Tyrese Haliburton’s relationship with the Nova stars
Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Tyrese Haliburton were all on the FIBA World Cup 2023 squad together. The players shared a big chunk of time and developed a close bond. Brunson had revealed once that he and Tyrese weren’t really close in the beginning. He said, “Didn’t really know him until — like, I knew of him, we met a couple of times — but we didn’t really become friends until last summer… He became one of my friends, obviously through that [experience at the FIBA World Cup]…”
Hart, Brunson, and Bridges were all part of the Villanova Wildcats. They won a national championship together during their college days, explaining their good relationship with one another.
