Knicks, Nets tweak blockbuster Mikal Bridges trade with more players added

The Knicks have figured out a way to even out the money in order to complete the Mikal Bridges trade.

They will include guard Shake Milton in a sign-and-trade and roster filler Mamadi Diakite along with Bojan Bogdanovic — in addition to five future first-round picks, one unprotected pick swap and one second-rounder — in the deal with the Nets, a source confirmed.

The blockbuster trade was agreed upon from the beginning with the idea that the Knicks wouldn’t be hard capped, and there would be two additional players heading to Brooklyn when the trade is announced after the July 6 moratorium is lifted.

The Knicks needed to add salary to the trade in order to avoid being capped at the $178.1 million first apron for luxury tax purposes.

A source said it was always baked into the deal that the Knicks “would never be hard-capped at the first apron” and “can’t or won’t go above the second” – regardless of what happened with Isaiah Hartenstein’s free agency or other moves.

The Knicks only could have paid Hartenstein $72.5 million over four years, and he bolted for a three-year, $87 million deal from the Thunder.