For Mikal Bridges and fans of his New York Knicks, perhaps all is forgiven and forgotten. After struggling terribly in the first five games of the playoffs against the Hawks, where he averaged 7.2 points and 26.7% 3-point shooting and was nearly unplayable at times, Bridges has bounced back in a remarkable way for the past five games: 18.8 points, 67.8% shooting and 46.7% 3-point shooting going back to the final game against Atlanta and the four-game sweep of the Sixers.
What’s more, Bridges’ return to the fore offensively not only quelled chatter about coach Mike Brown making a change to the starting lineup, but also caused Brown to applaud the defense Bridges played on Philadelphia star Tyrese Maxey–Bridges’ defense seemed to have slipped along with his offensive efficiency before that.
“I would not be doing my job if I didn’t point out the continued work that Mikal is doing at the point of attack when it comes to Maxey. He is a great player, you can’t stop him, you’re hoping he misses a few shots, but you’ve got to give multiple efforts to guard him, and Bridges is busting his behind doing that,” Brown said of Bridges last week.
Knicks Still Would Weigh Trade Options
But has Bridges completely cleared himself in terms of his position on the Knicks roster? That question is a bit more complicated. After two years, even with his playoff surge, the Knicks still have more questions than answers about Bridges. We’ll see how he plays in the East finals and possibly in the NBA Finals after that, but his performance in those sample sizes won’t change the Knicks’ offseason limitations.
“If they get to the Finals, obviously, it means the staff is safe, Mike Brown and Leon Rose, and it probably means they keep Karl-Anthony Towns in place now that they’ve gotten some answers and unlocked him a little bit,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “But there is enough of a sample size with Bridges that, yeah, you still have to explore a move with him.
“The contract makes it tough to do, the fact that you sold out so many draft picks makes it tough to do, but they should not let a trip to the Finals blind them to the flaws they saw all year, with Bridges, with the whole rotation. I think there will be real talk about his future there.”
Mikal Bridges Has a $150 Million Extension Looming
But Bridges puts the Knicks in a tough position, as the exec referenced, for two reasons. For one thing, it would not be a good look for team president Leon Rose to have traded five first-round picks for Bridges two years ago, and then essentially seek to dump him now.
And a trade of Bridges would not bring back a major return–the Knicks gave up five first-round picks, and might be lucky to get back one in a trade now. That’s because of the massive extension the Knicks gave to Bridges a year ago, which pays him $150 million over four years, from the 2026-27 season through the 2029-30 season (a player option).
No team really wants to take that deal on, even with the way Bridges has played in the past 10 days. The inconsistency has been too striking. Expect Bridges to very much be on the trade market this summer, but expect the Knicks to have a hard time drumming up suitors.
Knicks Star’s Surge Won’t Quiet ‘Real’ Summer Trade Talk