Knicks' Mikal Bridges Extension Receives Approval

It wasn't the absolute maximum amount of money that Bridges could have taken, but reactions to the extension could have been about as varied as the approval he received on the court. He's talented, but does everyone want him and his guaranteed money around for the rest of the decade?

ESPN's Kevin Pelton is in on the move, giving the Knicks a passing grade in his lengthy column reviewing the biggest signings of this summer's free agency.

"This contract will kick in when Bridges is 30 and looks more like the third- or fourth-best player on a good team than a top-two option," Pelton rationalizes. "Once upon a time, that distinction made less of a difference in terms of contracts. For a Knicks team that is likely headed toward the second apron, it could be crucial."

That's a lot closer to the role that the Knicks have already tried to put him into, with his having to fit in as a grenade-chucking play-finisher than ever before in 2024-25. Should he adapt back to a tertiary role and get his defense back up to where it was in the early goings of the 2020s, the investment they made into their stars could pay off.

"Given New York's financial situation, Bridges would have been nearly impossible to replace with a similar talent had he left as an unrestricted free agent. Acquiring and keeping his Villanova teammate was also surely part of the equation in Jalen Brunson taking a below-market extension last summer that is the only reason the Knicks haven't already reached the second apron."

He wasn't consistent as a first-year Knick, but the Knicks' willingness to offer Bridges the extension as opposed to his testing out unrestricted free agency in 2027 lines up with the aggression they've demonstrated all summer. The Eastern Conference is wide open, and they're going for it with this core group of guys.