{"id":1952533,"date":"2026-05-24T10:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1952533"},"modified":"2026-05-24T10:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:00:35","slug":"the-knicks-trade-for-mikal-bridges-was-worth-it-as-they-close-in-on-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1952533","title":{"rendered":"The Knicks\u2019 trade for Mikal Bridges was worth it, as they close in on NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CLEVELAND \u2014 Send the Brooklyn Nets more picks. They can consider all the cash they want, too.<\/p>\n

Mikal Bridges\u2019 short trek from Brooklyn to Manhattan two summers ago initiated arguments that got as heated as subway platforms in July. The New York Knicks traded five first-round picks and more to the cross-town rival Nets to acquire Bridges, a reliable NBA wing without an All-Star Game to his name. Many saw it as a significant overpay for someone of his stature.<\/p>\n

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New York\u2019s decision-makers, though, identified Bridges as a critical piece for a team ready to transition into a serious challenger.<\/p>\n

For the trade to be justified, the Knicks had to quickly be in the chase for a championship. There\u2019s no other way around it. Anything short of that could set the franchise back, as it emptied the bulk of its asset cabinet to get the move done. People could lose their jobs over such a gamble. One way or another, whenever the dust settles, an extreme result will present itself.<\/p>\n

Yet here we are, almost two years since the move, and New York is a legitimate title contender again. Last year, it made the Eastern Conference finals before bowing out. This year, it\u2019s right back in that same spot and, as history says, is going to be in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 after taking a 3-0 series lead<\/a> over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. No team in NBA history has fumbled a 3-0 series lead.<\/p>\n

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The Knicks wouldn\u2019t be here without Bridges. Not without those gangly limbs irking James Harden and Tyrese Maxey each time either one has tried to make something happen. Not without that buttery midrange jumper that floats over any tertiary defender an opponent puts in front of Bridges because it has bigger fish to worry about. Not without the marathon stamina Bridges and his iron-man reputation carry as he turns hard defense into easy offense with ever-so-subtle anticipation.<\/p>\n

Bridges scored 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting Saturday night. He also had six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. More importantly, the Knicks are as serious a title contender as they\u2019ve been since frosted tips were in style.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just got a good feel,\u201d coach Mike Brown said. \u201cHe\u2019s picking and choosing (when to go for steals), just like when he\u2019s picking and choosing to go for his shot when we call his number. We need him to continue to do that. I told him and OG (Anunoby) that because I don\u2019t call a lot of plays, you guys have to impose your will on the game. They\u2019re both doing a phenomenal job of imposing their will on the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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To better understand Bridges as a Knick, you have to first come to grips with the fact he didn\u2019t ask to be traded for such a large haul. It was the front office that made that commitment. On the surface, Bridges was never going to live up to the trade value \u2014 or perceived expectations of what someone who is traded for that much capital should be capable of \u2014 because, well, that\u2019s not what New York needed him to do. The team had Jalen Brunson and would later acquire Karl-Anthony Towns to build its offense around. The Knicks needed Bridges, just like Anunoby, to be able to give hell defensively to the wings in Boston, while being able to fill in the gaps offensively with efficient shotmaking.<\/p>\n

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So when you peel back the layers, Bridges has done everything he\u2019s been brought here to do when it matters most \u2014 even if the last two regular seasons presented stomach-dropping experiences that sometimes made you queasy thinking about what else those draft picks could have been used on. Since a rough two-game stretch in New York\u2019s first-round series against Atlanta, when Bridges was essentially benched in the second halves, the 29-year-old is shooting an absurd 68.4 percent from the floor on 11.4 field goal attempts per game over his last nine. He\u2019s snatching almost two steals nightly.<\/p>\n

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Last season, Bridges won Knicks\u2019 postseason games against the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons by blocking a shot or making a deflection with his \u201cGo, go Gadget\u201d arms<\/a>. He came through with pressure shots when New York needed them, even if they didn\u2019t come in bulk.<\/p>\n

Bridges was brought here to help the Knicks win a championship. He\u2019s done his job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expectations don\u2019t matter,\u201d Josh Hart, his current teammate and former college teammate, said. \u201cThat\u2019s for y\u2019all to talk about. There\u2019s nothing he can do about it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe didn\u2019t call (Knicks president) Leon (Rose) and say, \u2018Yo, this is the trade package!\u2019 He got put into this situation, and he hit the ground running. We wouldn\u2019t be in this situation without him. Look, how many games has he won for us because he got a stop down the stretch? He\u2019s won games in every single way for us. That\u2019s why we wanted him. That\u2019s why he\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bridges lived two separate NBA lives before joining the Knicks, and he\u2019s found a way to blend those two personas in Manhattan. He was drafted 10th in 2018 by the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded his rights to the Phoenix Suns. He spent his first 4 1\/2 seasons with the Suns acting as a 3-and-D specialist and was expected to just defend the opposing team\u2019s best player and knock down open shots. Bridges did that job so well that the Nets wanted him in the trade for Kevin Durant. In Brooklyn, with fewer expectations regarding team success, Bridges became the team\u2019s primary initiator.<\/p>\n

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\"Mikal<\/p>\n
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\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be in this situation without him,\u201d Josh Hart said about Mikal Bridges, who is in his second season with the Knicks. (Scott Galvin \/ Imagn Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bridges went from a 15 percent usage rate in his last full season in Phoenix to a 24 percent usage rate in his first full season in Brooklyn. To put it in perspective, Brunson had a 29.4 percent usage rate last season with the Knicks. Brooklyn provided Bridges with the freedom to be a go-to guy.<\/p>\n

Two years into his time in Manhattan, Bridges finally appeared comfortable rolling his past responsibilities into one mega role. He floats around knocking down open 3s that are generated because of the talent around him. He also does the dirty work defensively to create offense for himself. Then there are times Bridges is forceful in making his presence felt, such as late in the Knicks\u2019 22-point comeback in Game 1<\/a>, when Bridges dribbled across the floor, stumbled and hoisted a fadeaway 3 over the outstretched arm of Evan Mobley. That was the shot and confidence of a 10-time All-Star.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, it\u2019s a blessing,\u201d said Knicks teammate Landry Shamet, who also played with Bridges in Phoenix. \u201cYou\u2019ve been asked to do so many different things in your career.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome nights, Mikal only gets five shots up, but he\u2019s got to guard the best player, run around and keep him under 13 points or something. Each night is something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winning an NBA championship is hard. There are too many factors that go into which team hoists the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy at the end of every season; anyone who acts as if there is an exact formula clearly just likes to hear themself talk. The best team all season doesn\u2019t always win.<\/p>\n

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The goal for every NBA organization is to have a chance, to be one of the teams able to make it to the sport\u2019s mountaintop year after year. The Knicks have been in that position since they traded for Bridges, which is what the front office hoped for. In fact, that\u2019s all that anyone can ask for.<\/p>\n

The Bridges trade was worth it for New York. It\u2019s time to let that argument die.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2014 Send the Brooklyn Nets more picks. They can consider all the cash they want, too. Mikal Bridges\u2019 short trek from Brooklyn to Manhattan two summers ago initiated arguments that got as heated as subway platforms in July. The New York Knicks traded five first-round picks and more to the cross-town rival Nets to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1952533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1952533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1952533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1952533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1952533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}