The Brooklyn Nets will be welcoming Mikal Bridges and the New York Knicks to Barclays Center for the first time since Bridges was traded.

This version of Mikal Bridges looks nothing like the one Brooklyn traded away, but his revamped role could be the key to New York ascending in the East.

Former Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges returns to Barclays Center on Tuesday for the first time as a Knick. The New York Knicks acquired the 6-6 forward in a seismic pre-draft deal that sent Bojan Bogdanovic,

After the Los Angeles Lakers traded Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Nets last month in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, he dropped 22 points off the bench in his season debut with Brooklyn in a 130-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 1.

D'Angelo Russell is seven games into his second spell with the Brooklyn Nets. The veteran guard was sent to his former team as part of the deal that saw Dorian Finney-Smith land with the Los Angeles Lakers.

As the calendar turned toward 2025, the Los Angeles Lakers made a bold roster move, trading D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for versatile forward Dorian Finney-Smith and sharpshooter Gabe Vincent.