The Mikal Bridges Knicks Trade loomed as a rumor during the 2024 best-of-seven series after the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks in the semifinal stage. It started with the owner of the Brooklyn Nets, Joe Tsai, expressing his desire to take a long-term approach and build a sustainable winning culture from scratch using youngsters.
Though the Knicks and Nets have a history of not coming to a mutual agreement during offseason negotiations, this Tuesday night trade surprised the NBA league. The Knicks offer was a no-brainer, as the club showered the Nets with many future draft picks and swaps with Bojan Bogdanovic.
Thus, is this trade worth it or not?
The Proposed New York Knicks Roster
The Knicks franchise’s offseason plans are still in progress as they desire to sign OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein. Why take so long?
Now that the New York Knicks agreed with the Brooklyn Nets to sign Mikal Bridges, it could be challenging to sign Anunoby and Hartenstein on favorable terms, especially Hartenstein. However, if the Knicks settle these players this is the team’s line-up outlook.
Jalen Brunson (PG), Mikal Bridges (F), OG Anunoby (SG), Julius Randle (PF), and Isaiah Hartenstein (C) as the team’s starting five. Then, Josh Hart (SG), Mile McBride (PG), Donte DiVincenzo (PG), and Mitchell Robinson (C) will be on the roster for rotation purposes.
How the Mikal Bridges Knicks Trade Is Worthwhile
The New York Knicks bagged a pile of injury reports during the 2023-24 regular and playoff season from vital players. Some of these players were Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson.
Due to the Knicks’ playing style, the injury reports bestowed a heavy burden on available players offensively and defensively, which made the team imbalanced. Thus, this Mikal Bridges trade to the Knicks should help balance the team because of the unique talent he brings to the court.
Bridges, 27, is a good 3-and-D player. Thus, if the Knicks offer a favorable contract to OG Anunoby, the Knicks will have more 3-and-D players to make their roster flexible and fluid.
Bridges Is The Final Piece
The Knicks franchise sees Mikal Bridges as the missing piece that would make the team a sturdy title contender. Why is that?
The club wants to build around their star, Jalen Brunson, to ease the offensive pressure on him. Therefore, a player that can shoot in the field and outside the arc is ideal and this is what Mikal Bridge brings to the court. Throughout his career, he’s averaged 48 FG% and 37.5 three-point percent.
Mikal Bridge also plays good defense which could ease the pressure on the defensive play to allow Jalen Brunson’s offensive impact to improve the team’s performance. Also, Bridge’s combination with Julius Randle could be the ultimate defense of the Knicks, coupled with good rim protectors.
What Could Make The Bridges Trade Futile
The chances of this trade being worthless are as slim as a needle’s eye. Why? Bridges’ NBA Career over the years guarantees his availability. He is known as the Iron Man of the NBA league because he played most of the matches in his career. If not all.
Mikal Bridges is a good player who could perform well as a supportive player.
Therefore, if the Knicks experience a lack of player availability from vital players his presence makes the roster fluid and flexible.
Also, Bridges eases the uncertainty of the outlook of the team if they lose some vital players like OG Anunoby and Julius Randle. Finally, sentiments had it that Tom Thibodeau’s playbook-style strategy is rigid, that’s why the Knicks suffered from many injury reports that affected the team’s performance. However, with Bridges on the team’s roster, Thibodeau could be more flexible with his playbook.
Final Thoughts
Mikal Bridges’ trade to the Knick is more of a blessing than a curse to the franchise. Though the club gave out many future draft picks that could support the future of the team’s roster, Bridges is a better long-term deal.
It’s official! Bridges will join the Villanova brothers and contend for the NBA title next season and beyond. With this development, it is evident that the Boston Celtics team component is gradually influencing the NBA league.
About the Author
Wisdom is an email and brand copywriter with two years of content writing experience. He started Cloud Kitchen Concept to help startups and business owners elevate their brands from good to great. You can connect with him on LinkedIn and Instagram to enjoy cooked meals for your business’s growth.
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