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BREAKING: Mikal Bridges Traded To The New York Knicks

Mikal Bridges
(Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

Mikal Bridges Traded Across Town To The Knicks

Mikal Bridges will be playing in New York City next season. But not Brooklyn! The Nets are trading the former Suns lottery pick to the New York Knicks. It now completes the set of former Villanova champions from 2016 and 2018 at MSG. It is a major trade with a return of as many as six first round picks. Deadline acquisition Bojan Bogdanovic joins the Nets to match salaries. Check out Woj’s tweet with all the details:

It goes without saying that the 27-year-old is a perfect fit for this team. Some felt like 2024 was a missed opportunity at Madison Square Garden. A major reason for that was injuries. Key contributors dropped like flies as they fell in the second round to the Pacers in Game 7. However, the foundation for being at the top of the East is there with Jalen Brunson as the centerpiece.

Bridges is the modern-day NBA iron man. He has not missed a single game in his career. In 2023-2024, MB put up a cool 19.6 points per game to go with 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and shooting splits of .246/.372/.814. He is even part of a small list of players to play 83 games in a regular season. Of course, that happened after he joined Brooklyn as part of the return of the Kevin Durant blockbuster from the 2023 deadline.

It does sting for the Nets that they are waving the white flag to their crosstown rivals. However, keeping him would mean they stay in a weird limbo of in-between land. Instead, you get major draft capital and increased financial flexibility to properly rebuild for the future. There should be optimism at Barclays Center that a healthy contender will be built later in the decade.

Orange And Blue Skies?

This is a major statement of intent for the Knicks as the offseason is about to begin. Despite opting out of his contract, they will more than likely pursue a return with OG Anunoby. That would form one of the best wing duos in all of the NBA. However, the likely casualty through all of this may have to be Julius Randle. He put up some excellent seasons as a Knick. Unfortunately it was cut short this season with a shoulder injury in January. As he enters the final year of his contract, his injuries combined with shortcomings in the playoffs have not seriously warranted support of a max extension in New York.

Another factor behind the deal is that it keeps Leon Rose’s short term assets. In particular, picks 24 and 25 in this week’s draft. They could either make more picks and trust their development system to add even more rotation players. Or, they could package the picks in another deal to either move up higher into the draft or to add another veteran player. Expect them to be targeting a big man if they can’t secure a new contract for Isaiah Hartenstein this summer.

Now we can officially say the NBA offseason has begun. The New York Knicks have secured one of the most desirable players in the league and forms a group that could win in the league just as they did in the Big East and NCAA Tournament.

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