Why Nets do this? They want to lose basketball games. Brooklyn gets draft capital in this deal, but also Mitchell Robinson who they'll be able to flip for even more assets down the line. He's injured right now so he won't hurt the tank. (Nets accepted Melton + 3 seconds in return for Schroder + 1 second, so this trade should be decent value for DFS)

Why Hornets do this? Nick Richards has been in trade talks for a while now, with reports saying that they'd accept 2 second round picks in return for Richards, because they see (a healthy) Mark Williams as their center of the future. Knicks are paying their asking price.

Why Knicks do this? DFS is a 3&D forward who can come off the bench to hit 3s and defend, but he also unlocks a true 5-out lineup for them. Nick Richards gives them a big that's actually on the court, and who's not 6'8 like Achiuwa is. He also unlocks double-big lineups with Towns at the 4.