The New York Knicks have three players who are extension-eligible this summer. Those players are Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Knicks have a tough decision to make about Mikal Bridges and Mitchell Robinson
Towns is under contract until at least the 2028 offseason, when he has a player option, so the team is in no rush to extend him. However, Bridges and Robinson are both entering contract years, meaning that they might need to make a difficult decision over which player they want to commit to long-term.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted that with both being extension-eligible the year before they hit the open market, New York might have difficulties trying to retain both players.
“A new contract for Bridges that starts at $34.8 million could squeeze out Mitchell Robinson. Like Bridges, Robinson is eligible to sign up to a four-year extension and is a free agent if a new contract is not reached by June 30,” Marks wrote.
Bridges and Robinson were two essential players for New York this past season. Bridges was acquired in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets last offseason, and Robinson has been the longest-tenured player on the Knicks.
The Knicks need to decide who is worth a long-term investment
The caveat is that there is a distinct difference between the two players. Bridges hasn’t missed a game in his entire NBA career, while Robinson has struggled with injury issues throughout his career.
Robinson missed the first 58 games last season recovering from his second ankle surgery in less than a year. He would return in time for the playoffs and had a strong impact, which may raise his value on the trade market.
If the Knicks go ahead with extending Bridges, they could consider selling high on Robinson to get back essential draft capital and perhaps a key rotation piece that is more durable.
Ultimately, the decision will come down to which player they want to commit to long-term. Regardless of which player it is, a decision needs to come sooner rather than later.
!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“has-featured-video”,”true”)})}();