Apr 8, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

Knicks Deals Shrinking Next Year’s Options

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Free agency, once a staple of the NBA offseason, has been reduced to a second-rate portion of the summer news cycle. The NBA Draft is still consistently bringing young talent to teams desperate for it and everyone is trading with one another as much as they ever have, but free agency simply isn't what it used to be. The New York Knicks have demonstrated that this summer as they re-work their roster to contend next season.

Anyone who's worth keeping around long-term these days is extended, with the best free agent options in the mid-2020s being reduced to journeymen role players and veterans with whom their incumbent team is reluctant to pay.

Mikal Bridges is a model example of this modern dilemma, owning a resume that makes him worthy of a payday without living up to it during his short sting with the Knicks. The Brooklyn Nets traded him across town knowing he was soon to be extension-eligible, but it's tough letting an actually prized asset head to the open market after having already surrendered a hefty price in previously trading for him.

They ended up forking over that extension, albeit at a fairly reasonable price for someone with Bridges' pedigree as a one-time Defensive Player of the Year candidate and former 20-point per game scorer.

The Knicks were investing in the trust that the new regime would make better use of the fringe-All Star's talents, and while signing him through the 2020s is a bit of a risk in that regard, they still opted to hand over the money as opposed to letting him test his market value on his own with his old contract set to expire next summer.

Bridges was among the recently-extended names set to sap next year's potential free agency class of some of their intrigue, with the Knicks being one of many teams to make such a business decision.

New York Knicks Forward Mikal Bridges David Butler II-Imagn Images

"Within 72 hours this month, Mikal Bridges, Luka Doncic and De'Aaron Fox signed long-term extensions," Bobby Marks wrote. "A month earlier, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jakob Poeltl, Jabari Smith Jr., Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams did the same. Each of those nine players could have been a free agent next summer."

Stars like Kevin Durant and Trae Young could still be out there by 2026, but they, too, could get scooped up by their current situations since they've hit extension eligibility, as noted by ESPN when running through next summer's storylines worth monitoring.

Bridges, though, now joins a Knicks cast that's largely locked down for the next few years. New York's window for contention isn't nearly as sustainable as that draft-heavy approach built by teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the smart trades that got them here have been aided by decisive contract offers to keep the core together.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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