Knicks Can Exhale After Signing Mikal Bridges Extension

Mikal Bridges is with the New York Knicks on a long-term deal.

New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges arrives at the arena before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks are celebrating after signing Mikal Bridges to a four-year, $150 million extension.

The deal is a major bargain for the Knicks, who save some money to sign other players in free agency in future seasons while retaining one of their key pieces to the puzzle.

The move to sign Bridges is arguably the greatest move the Knicks have made so far this offseason.

Getting Bridges under contract until the 2029-30 with a player option in the final season ensures that the Knicks will get the proper value they expected to get when they traded five first-round picks to acquire him from the Brooklyn Nets last summer.

Making a trade as massive as last year's blockbuster came with the expectation that the Knicks would eventually ink Bridges to a long-term extension. Now that this part is complete, the Knicks are in position to compete for the rest of the decade with Bridges, OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson under contract for the foreseeable future.

Bridges proved to be a key piece to the Knicks' success this past season, playing in all 82 games for the seventh consecutive year. He averaged 17.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game while also playing strong defense on the perimeter.

Bridges' numbers were down compared to his tenure with the Nets, but that was to be expected when teaming up with Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Now that the Knicks have Bridges under contract for the next little while, the team has to figure out how to maximize the value they get with him taking a paycut. Bridges could have signed for much more had he waited another year to sign an extension, but because he inked his deal a year early, the Knicks have a chance to place the right players around him with more of a budget.

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