The New York Knicks are a team that everyone is going to be keeping an eye on during the 2024 NBA offseason. Their front office has done a wonderful job of stockpiling assets in recent years and eventually, they are going to unload them to make a sizable upgrade to the roster.
NBA rumors have persisted for a while about who the Knicks could target. They were heavily linked to Donovan Mitchell before he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Before an extension was signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, rumors floated that Giannis Antetokounmpo could be the target for New York.
This offseason, NBA rumors will swirl once again about who Leon Rose could look to bring to the Big Apple. Mitchell trade rumors will pick up should the Cavaliers not make a deep run in the postseason. Another name that could emerge is Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets.
Bridges to the Knicks is a trade scenario that Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report suggested and it makes a lot of sense. A Villanova product, just like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, he would be a seamless fit into the lineup.
Hart has made plenty of jokes referencing the Spongebob meme of Squidward watching everyone else have fun below. In that scenario, Bridges is Squidward watching his college teammates have a great time with the Knicks while he toils away with the Nets.
While Bridges may not be an All-Star or the kind of headlining name people have expected the Knicks to target, he is a perfect fit basketball-wise. He would provide the Knicks with another elite two-way player that shoots 3-pointers at a high clip. That is exactly the kind of player New York should be looking to put in Brunson/Julius Randle-led lineups.
Bridges could conceivably slide into the starting shooting guard spot alongside Brunson with OG Anunoby, Randle and Mitchell Robinson or Isaiah Hartenstein filling the center spot. But, should the Knicks be wary of signing Anunoby long-term during the 2024 NBA offseason, Bridges could slide into his forward spot and offer a similar impact.
It won’t be cheap to acquire Bridges, as the Nets reportedly turned down an offer that included five first-round picks and another with Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets before the NBA trade deadline. But, New York has the assets to pull off a deal of that magnitude and will be aggressively looking to capitalize on the championship window that has been opened with Brunson’s ascension.
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