Trade Season Kicks Off

A possible Knicks trade target goes off the board. Plus, let's revisit the possibility of Mikal Bridges crossing the river.

Good morning! Lot’s to get to today, starting with a buy news day around the Association…

News & Notes

🏀 We got some more positivity on the Jalen Brunson front, courtesy of Wednesday’s KFS Pod guest, Ian Begley.

After Ian told he that he was pretty confident Jalen Brunson would sign an extension this summer, he dropped a piece for SNY in which he expounded on those thoughts a bit further:

“Getting to know a little bit about Brunson over the past two years, I expect him to listen earnestly when he and the Knicks sit down for extension negotiations. Newsday scribe Steve Popper reported last month that "all indications" pointed to Brunson being willing to sign the four-year $156 million extension. I think Popper’s report is dead-on. If I’m placing a bet today, Brunson and the Knicks will ultimately agree to terms on an extension, but it will not be guaranteed for the full four years.”

Well then. That’s pretty good news.

Obviously the front office needs to take care of some other business before Brunson is eligible to sign an extension on July 12, but getting their star guard to agree to a tam-friendly pact would represent a massive win for the organization if it ends up happening.

🏀 In other Knicks news, Julius Randle says he’ll be ready for the start of the season after shoulder surgery.

🏀 The Bulls and Thunder completed a trade yesterday, with Chicago sending highly sought after guard Alec Caruso to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh Giddey, whose time with OKC had clearly run its course. To the surprise of many, there were no picks sent to the Bulls in the trade despite the fact that they’d reportedly turned down offers of multiple firsts for Caruso in the past. Chicago doesn’t appear to be done either, with Zach LaVine’s name showing up in a plethora of rumors that connect him to several teams, including Utah, Sacramento, Orlando and Philly.

🏀 Speaking of the Sixers, according to Shams, Philly’s “interest in pursuing Paul George has significantly waned in recent days, and the franchise is expected to be aggressive elsewhere with its salary cap flexibility and draft capital leading into next week’s NBA Draft.” We’ll see whether they get a chance to woo OG Anunoby, or whether the Knicks can come to terms with their free agent wing prior to June 30.

🏀 At long last, the Lakers have their coach, reportedly hiring JJ Redick to a four year deal. After all that, we ended up where we started.

Revisiting Mikal

Earlier this summer, I wrote about the feasibility of a trade for Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges, ultimately laying out the reasons why I didn’t think it was likely (in short, that another team - probably Houston - would beat there offer). More than anything though, I just didn’t see a world where the Knicks and Nets engaged on a significant trade.

Then yesterday, the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor wrote the following about Brooklyn’s miscast No. 1 option:

“Would the Nets be willing to trade Bridges to the Knicks to join his Nova buddies? Based on my conversations with people around the NBA, I believe so … if the Knicks are willing to overpay.”

If KOC’s sources are accurate, maybe Mikal is more of an option than many of us initially believed.