ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 06: Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks reacts against the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter at State Farm Arena on April 06, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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In July 2024, the New York Knicks traded five fully unprotected first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for a package headlined by Mikal Bridges. At the time, they were fresh off their second straight loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks made the Eastern Conference Finals last season for the first time in 25 years, which might make the deal defensible in and of itself. However, team owner James Dolan made it clear earlier this year that he had his sights set higher than that.
At this rate, the Knicks might not even make it out of the first round.
After beating the Atlanta Hawks by 11 points in Game 1, the Knicks blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter to lose by one in Game 2. The Hawks tried to return the favor in Game 3, but CJ McCollum hit a go-ahead jumper with 12 seconds left, and the Hawks held on by one point for the second straight game.
Bridges had 11 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in Game 1, but he struggled offensively with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting (including 2-of-6 from deep) in Game 2.
That's far better than what he did in Game 3. He was a complete non-factor.
Bridges finished with more turnovers (four) than points (zero), rebounds (one), assists (two), steals (zero) and blocks (zero) combined. He also committed three fouls in his 21 minutes on the floor.
The lineup with Miles McBride in place of Bridges with the rest of the Knicks’ starters was plus-24 in 14 minutes, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. While that got the Knicks back into the game, head coach Mike Brown occasionally went to lineups without either Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns, which is indefensible at this point in the series.
Perhaps the Knicks hope that Bridges can shoulder more of the offensive load in those lineups. That's not who he is, though.
Bridges had 17.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds in his first season with the Knicks last year while playing all 82 games for the fourth straight season. He kept his iron-man streak alive this year, but his numbers dipped to 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists, albeit in four fewer minutes per game.
If Brown has a quick hook again for Bridges in Game 4 and/or the Knicks go on to lose this series, that figures to result in some tough offseason conversations. The Knicks signed Bridges to a four-year, $150 million extension last August, but that's only about 20-21% of the salary cap each year of his deal.
The problem is the opportunity cost, particularly with some big stars potentially hitting the market this offseason.
In October, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that there was only one place where Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to play aside from Brew City. You can probably guess where this is going.
"One source with direct knowledge of the talks" told Charania that the Bucks and Knicks had a multiweek "exclusive negotiating window" about Antetokounmpo last summer, although the two sides seemingly have differing opinions about it. The Knicks felt the Bucks weren't serious about moving Giannis, while the Bucks didn't think the Knicks' offers were serious enough to continue conversations, Charania reported later.
Not having five tradable first-round picks probably didn't help in that regard.
The Knicks still might be able to land one of Antetokounmpo, LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard this offseason depending on which (if any) of them shake loose from their respective teams. But thanks to the Bridges trade and the NBA's Stepien Rule, the Knicks are very limited in how much they can sweeten their offer with draft picks.
The Knicks could trade this year's No. 24 pick after they make it, but not before. On draft night, they could agree to make a pick for another team once they're on the clock. After the draft, they'll also be allowed to trade first-round swap rights in 2030 and 2032 as well as a fully unprotected 2033 first-round pick.
That’s it when it comes to first-round picks.
The Knicks might have felt as though the combination of their market and Jalen Brunson justified the price they paid for Bridges, but few (if any) players are fetching five fully unprotected first-round picks anymore. In the second-apron era, it's virtually impossible to predict where a team will be five years from now. But the Knicks already sent their 2031 first-round pick to the Nets as part of the Bridges trade.
Granted, the Bucks might not only want a picks-heavy package for the Greek Freak. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that the Golden State Warriors offered them four unprotected first-round picks for Antetokounmpo, but they "never seemed to gain much momentum on a deal." Instead, they wanted a young building block like Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe or Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley.
That's another potential stumbling block for the Knicks.
The Knicks haven't had a top-10 pick since they took Obi Toppin eighth overall in 2020. They haven't had a top-three pick since 2019, when they selected RJ Barrett at No. 3 overall.
The Knicks wound up trading Toppin to the Indiana Pacers in 2023 for two second-round picks. They used Barrett and Immanuel Quickley (the No. 25 pick in 2020) as the main salary ballast to acquire OG Anunoby ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
A few months after acquiring Bridges, the Knicks shipped Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns. The Wolves proceeded to make the Western Conference Finals each of the past two seasons, and they're laying the wood to the favored Denver Nuggets in the first round this year.
The Knicks' haste to complete a championship-caliber roster around Jalen Brunson led them to deplete their pipeline of young talent without waiting for a bigger swing to emerge. That's left them with few tradable draft picks and no blue-chip prospects to offer for a star.
The Knicks can offer up some of their veterans to other teams in hopes of acquiring that type of a package, which they'd then reroute to Milwaukee in a multi-team deal. In fact, that's essentially the only way they can cobble together a compelling offer for Antetokounmpo. The Bucks aren't likely to trade him for Towns, Miles McBride and a few second-round picks, to say the least.
Teams typically don’t give up five first-round picks unless it’s for players of Antetokounmpo’s caliber because of how much it limits your trade flexibility moving forward. The Knicks thought Bridges could be one of the missing pieces of their championship puzzle.
Instead, he's looking like one of its biggest roadblocks.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
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