The Mikal Bridges Extension Discussion

Let's get into why it's more complicated than meets the eye.

Good morning! No Knicks news to speak of yesterday, although I wonder if James Dolan raised an eyebrow or two at the Lakers fetching $10 billion for the Buss family.

The Mikal Bridges Extension Discussion

When the Knicks gave up four unprotected first round picks plus a protected first and a swap for Mikal Bridges last summer, the reaction both amongst fans and around the league ranged from outright shock to mild surprise.

The shock generated from two related places: the opportunity cost, and the caliber of player they received. Going back to the Phil Jackson days, New York’s front office had been hoarding their own firsts, waiting until the day the right superstar decided he wanted to play his home games at MSG. After a decade of patience, they cashed in nearly all of those draft chips at once for a guy who would likely never make an All-Star game.

The mild surprise on the other end of the spectrum resulted from a more nuanced view of the situation that centered on three key points:

• Unlike in superstar trades for Kevin Durant, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Donovan Mitchell and Paul George, the Knicks gave up no present day talent in the deal (with all due respect to Bojan Bogdanović, who missed all of last season). Instead, the return was closer to the Jrue Holiday trade to Milwaukee, and even that saw the Pelicans end up with Eric Bledsoe, who was coming off consecutive All-Defense selections.

• Aside from shot-generating stars, Bridges’ archetype is the most coveted in the NBA (in short, 3 & D “plus” wings with size), and these sorts of players simply don’t come on the market very often.

• The Knicks were setting up their cap sheet for long term sustainability.

Nearly one year later, it’s hard to call the Bridges trade an unabashed success (and many observers would certainly have a far harsher assessment). I broke down the specific ways in which Mikal fell short of reasonable expectations here, but in short, on paper the Knicks were getting a guy who once finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and showed real scoring upside in Brooklyn, averaging 21.2 points in 109 games as a Net. Combine those, and boom, he’s worth the freight.

There’s no shortage of opinions about why Bridges didn’t quite live up to that hype, but two things about the trade remain the same. First, the cost for premium wings, even non-All-Stars, hasn’t changed (see: the Desmond Bane trade). Second, the salary cap considerations that influenced New York’s decision are as relevant today as they were last summer.

And what are those considerations? That’s where things get interesting.