4th of July Fireworks: A Leon Masterclass

It's impossible to overstate the importance of having a smart, shrewd, and forward-thinking front office to achieve sustained success in today's NBA.

Right around the time many of us were polishing off our second hot dog of the day, Leon Rose decided it was time to let the cat out of the bag. 

When news of the Knicks-Nets Mikal Bridges blockbuster first broke, it was reported that New York was sending five first-round picks, one swap and Bojan Bogdanovic to Brooklyn. However, the issue from a Knicks perspective is that if the deal had been consummated without any other players involved, New York would have been accepting approximately $4.2 million more in salary than they were sending out, which would have hard-capped the club at the first apron, making it difficult for them to round out their roster.

Well, according to multiple published reports yesterday afternoon, the deal has been expanded to include  Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite and Keita Bates-Diop. 

As part of the sign-and-trade, Milton will ink a new contract worth $9 million over three years, with the final two seasons being non-guaranteed. Mamadi Diakite's $2.3 million salary for next season will be partially guaranteed (approximately $1.2 million). Bates-Diop is on a vet minimum wage, which means the Knicks can add him to their roster in a minimum exception slot, but his incoming salary does not count against the Knicks side in the transaction. 

Long story short, the combined total of Milton and Diakite's salaries is north of $4.3 million. As a result, New York can now spend up to $188.9 million (the second apron) instead of $178.1 million (the first apron). 

Here's the final structure of the Knicks-Nets deal (the first trade between the two teams since 1983, when the Nets traded Len Elmore to NY for a 1984 second-round pick):

Knicks Receive:

• Mikal Bridges

• Keita Bates-Diop

• 2026 second-round draft pick from Detroit, Milwaukee or Orlando (least favorable)

Nets Receive:

• Bojan Bogdanovic

• Shake Milton (via sign-and-trade)

• Mamadi Diakite (partially guaranteed 24-25 contract)

• Knicks 2025 first-round pick (unprotected) 

• Knicks 2027 first-round pick (unprotected) 

• Knicks 2029 first-round pick (unprotected) 

• Knicks 2031 first-round pick (unprotected)

• Bucks 2025 first-round pick (top-4 protected) 

• Knicks 2028 first-round pick swap (unprotected)

• Nets 2025 second-round pick (reacquire the rights to their own pick) 

However, finalizing a blockbuster wasn't the only piece of business the Knicks handled on America's birthday. 

Fred Katz of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the team also signed first-round draft pick Pacome Dadiet. The pleasantly surprising news was that it was for only 80% of the rookie scale figure. 

Each year, rookie scale amounts are assigned to each first-round slot. Teams can sign their first-round selection to as little as 80% of that amount or up to 120%. Players almost always lock in the full 120%. In fact, as Katz notes, of the 300 first-round picks drafted over the past decade, only one (Kevin Porter Jr. in 2019) agreed to a sign for 80% of the rookie scale in Year 1.

Instead of earning $2,712,120 next season, Dadiet will make $1,808,080. This will save New York more than $900,00 against this year's cap. 

Beginning in 2025-26, Dadiet will make 120% of the rookie scale figure from the second through fourth years on his contract. Per SNY's Ian Begley, the Knicks have already paid an $850,000 buyout with his former club, Ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany.

This means Dadiet will get his wish and spend next season in the States. It's unlikely the 19-year-old wing will see much time at all in the Knicks' regular rotation, but he'll get to learn Thibs' system in practice on a daily basis and get game reps with Westchester in the G League. 

Last but not least, Katz reported yesterday that New York inked second-round selection Tyler Kolek to a four-year, $9.06 million contract. The first three years of the deal are guaranteed, with the final season being a team option. That's terrific value if Kolek can establish himself as a steady, reliable backup PG. 

Taking a step back, here's what the Knicks roster looks like as of this morning:

Guard:
Jalen Brunson
Deuce McBride
Tyler Kolek

Guard:
Mikal Bridges 
Donte DiVincenzo

Wing:
OG Anunoby
Pacôme Dadiet
Kevin McCullar Jr.

Forward:
Julius Randle
Josh Hart
Keita Bates-Diop

Center:
Mitchell Robinson
Jericho Sims
Ariel Hukporti

And because New York expanded the Bridges trade and signed Dadiet for 80% of the rookie scale, the Knicks are approximately $17.5 million underneath the second apron and have access to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.2 million).

They can use this ample cap space to address their lack of depth in the middle by re-signing Precious Achiuwa or trading for a center if they choose to go that route. (Worth noting: Begley confirmed yesterday that the Knicks have been monitoring centers on the trade market, with "Walker Kessler among them.")

All told, this was awe-inspiring work from Leon Rose and company. 

Consider just Diakite and Milton's inclusion in the Bridges blockbuster. 

The Knicks signed Shake off the street on March 5th after the Pistons waived him. He appeared in just six games for New York. However, having been on a one-year contract at the end of the 2023-24 season enabled the Knicks to include him in a sign-and-trade this summer, as NY was able to re-sign him via the non-qualifying veteran free agent (aka "Non-Bird") exception. (Per the CBA, a team may re-sign its own free agent who is neither a "Bird" nor an "Early Bird" player to a contract with a first-year salary of up to the greater of 120% of the player's salary in the last season of his prior contract). Inking Milton to a deal with a 20% raise pushed him over the minimum contract threshold, allowing his salary to be stacked in a multi-player trade.  

The Knicks initially signed Diakite to a 10-day contract on March 14th. When that expired, they signed him to a two-year deal with the 2024-25 season non-guaranteed. He ended up logging eight minutes over three games. Yet, his contract status enabled New York to send half his 24-25 salary to Brooklyn.

These two minor moves, which we barely noticed three months ago, allowed the Knicks' front office to include an extra $4.3 million in outgoing salary on top of Bogey's $19.9 non-guaranteed number (a valuable contract they obtained in February). This prevented NY from being hard-capped at the first apron, enabling them to access precious cap space to round out this year's roster.

Think about how far ahead Rose, Aller, Rosas and the rest of the Knicks brain trust were thinking, mapping out a seemingly infinite number of possibilities. 

The group running the Knicks franchise has proven capable of expertly deciphering the CBA and has a keen eye for talent. That's a deadly combination. 

It's impossible to overstate the importance of having a smart, shrewd, and forward-thinking front office to achieve sustained success in today's NBA.