The New York Knicks remain hopeful that a deal can be made between them and Mikal Bridges.
Bridges is eligible for a four-year, $156 million contract extension this offseason. If he waits one more year, he can be eligible for roughly $200 million in free agency.
The Knicks gave up quite a lot to land Bridges, sending five first-round picks and several players to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Bridges.
Keith Smith of Spotrac spoke with an anonymous front office executive for the Knicks, who told him the importance of bringing back a player like Bridges considering his price tag.
“We hope to get something done,” they said, per Smith. “When you make the commitment to trade for a player like we did with Mikal, you do it with the intention of them being on the team for a long time.”
It was an up-and-down season for Bridges in his first with the Knicks. He averaged 17.6 points per game, shooting 50 percent from the field, but struggled to find consistency on both sides of the floor all season. Ironically, Bridges can be credited with getting the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals in the first place. In the Knicks’ second round matchup with the Boston Celtics, Bridges made game-winning defensive plays in both Games 1 and 2. The Knicks would go on to win the series in six games.
The Knicks will now direct their attention at getting a deal done with one of their most important players. Losing Bridges after just two seasons would be a disastrous reality for the Knicks considering what they gave up to land him.
