One Buck or a few million bucks?
The New York Knicks find themselves in a holding pattern. Mikal Bridges, one of their newest core players, is eligible for a contract extension, yet no deal has been struck. It’s not a matter of value; the Knicks gave up five first-round picks (or five very promising varsity players) to acquire him. So what’s the holdup?
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the delay has less to do with contract details and more to do with a superstar 800 miles away. Like the rest of the league, the Knicks are closely monitoring the situation in Milwaukee, waiting to see what happens with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Begley notes that once a player signs an extension, they can’t be traded for six months. Locking in Bridges now would remove him from any potential Giannis deal until deep into the season. “Until the Giannis stuff is fully settled—and I don’t think it’s fully settled yet—teams continue to plan with that in the back of their minds,” Begley said on The Putback. “When [Bridges] does extend, I think that would tell you Giannis is put to bed.”
The core issue is flexibility. Leon Rose & Co. aren’t ready to close the door on a franchise-altering move just yet. New York almost certainly wants to keep Mikal, but if a generational player like Giannis becomes available, they’ll need elite trade assets. You can bet that Bridges or OG Anunoby would be at the center of those talks.
In one scenario, Milwaukee holds on to Giannis, or the Knicks bow out of the chase, clearing the way for a Bridges extension before the season starts. At just under $25 million for next year, he’s currently a bargain, and a proactive deal would signal stability and commitment.
But if the Giannis watch drags into the fall or winter, delaying the extension could become a locker room issue. Bridges is a talented player who knows his worth. Holding off may be a smart strategy, but it risks creating locker room tension.
Imagine Giannis becomes available in November and Bridges has already been extended, removing him from the trade table until spring. That kind of misstep could cost New York a shot at a title.
Another possible reason for the delay: perhaps the new head coach, Mike Brown, has mixed thoughts about the 3&D wing.
Bridges was part of a championship-winning core at Villanova that included staple Knicks Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. It was generally understood that Jalen wanted to reunite, and Leon was willing to overpay to make that happen last summer.
But playing for coach Tom Thibodeau proved less than ideal for Mikal. The guard was tasked with difficult defensive assignments and played a career-high 37 minutes per game.
Bridges publicly stated that he asked Tom Thibodeau to “back off a bit on the starters’ minutes,” and that it’s tough physically to play so many minutes. “Sometimes it’s not fun on the body,” Bridges explained. He added that keeping starters on the floor for 47 or 48 minutes wasn’t necessary because “we have a lot of good guys on this team that can take away minutes, which helps the defense, helps the offense, helps tired bodies…It helps just keeping fresh bodies out there.”
Bridges is renowned for having never missed a game in his career. Still, the Ironman seemed to feel the stress last season—or so one can deduce from his decision to speak out publicly. “You never really get used to the workload. Your body is going to feel how it is every year. But I’ve been a part of it for a while, knowing how to take care of my body through those situations and just trying to do as much as I can.”
At recent summer league games, Bridges and Brown were photographed, smiling side-by-side as they rooted for the SummerKnicks. Given the busy schedules of professional athletes and coaches, let’s assume that this time together was not a happenstance encounter but intentionally arranged: a new coach and one of his starters, having a meeting of the minds, feeling each other out, discussing philosophies. Almost like an audition.
It presents a slew of speculations. Maybe Bridges left Las Vegas thinking that extending for a Mike Brown-coached team might not be his preferred course after all. Maybe Brown left Sin City feeling unconvinced that their visions align. Maybe the two guys came away with such affection for each other that they want to spend their careers together. Perhaps the extension delay has to do with a superstar Buck, and perhaps it doesn’t. It could simply be that the front office and Mikal’s camp are a few million bucks apart.
Go Knicks.