Mikal Bridges' basketball home is only moving a few miles from Brooklyn to Manhattan, but he says he's still getting used to his "surreal" cross-borough trade from the Nets to the Knicks.
"It's surreal. But it's dope to be a Knick. .. I thought I was gonna be (drafted) here in 2018, and I love everything about the team," Bridges told reporters Tuesday.
Despite his excitement to be a Knick, Bridges admitted to being a little "sad" about losing the relationships he built in Brooklyn.
The Knicks traded five future first-round picks, including four unprotected selections, a future pick swap, Bojan Bogdanović, Shake Milton and Mamadi Diakite for Bridges and Keita Bates-Diop.
The trade was not only one of the biggest in terms of picks offered in NBA history but also blew out the market for someone with Bridges' relative lack of resume. Bridges has never been an All-Star and only has one All-Defensive team selection on his resume. The picks haul the Knicks gave up is something closer to one typically offered for a future Hall of Famer, rather than an elite role player.
Bridges showed flashes of potential stardom during the 2022-23 season after his midseason trade to Brooklyn, but he struggled under the bright lights of being the 1A star last year. He averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while seeing his scoring efficiency drop to its lowest since his rookie season.
The Knicks already have a 1A star in Jalen Brunson and a 1B in Julius Randle, so Bridges will go back to a more comfortable role as a third star—and even then he might trade that role off with OG Anunoby. Bridges and Anunoby should give New York the best 1-2 punch of perimeter defenders in the NBA while also providing high-quality depth down the roster.
While the Knicks don't quite have the star power of the defending champion Boston Celtics, Bridges' arrival will allow them to compete at the top of the conference with Boston and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, will embark on a necessary rebuilding experiment.
