Will Mikal Bridges Get A Max Extension From The Knicks This Year?

Will Mikal Bridges Get A Max Extension From The Knicks This Year?

Yeah, I mean I think I think part of the reason for the delay, especially on Bridges, is that the front office was just very focused on the coaching search for a while. And so I think they kind of just were putting things to the side because they were just so preoccupied with the coaching search. And then once the coaching search ended, they were like, “All right, we’re going to pick things up soon.” Um, the Bridges extension stuff is very interesting to me because they can offer him a max extension. To be clear, it’s not a max contract. It’s the most they can offer him an extension. 140% of last year’s salary can be next year’s starting salary. So, they can offer him four years, $156 million. And the question is in an environment where Oanobi got 50 million more uh guaranteed uh Desmond Bane got way more like does Mikuel Bridges want to take that contract? Uh it’s ironically the exact same contract as Jaylen Brunson signed. Mhm. On the other side, the Knicks will really be committing to this team. Like that is a that is a real financial commitment even if they believe that to be a team friendly number for Mikuel Bridges because what’s going to happen is that is going to guarantee they’re jumping into the second apron. Yes. Next year. Now if you’re also not going to let Bridges walk for nothing. So that salary slot is not going to turn into is it’s going to turn into something. It is important for the Knicks to maintain that salary slot. Like let’s forget about Bridges as the player. Yeah. And whatever you think of Bridges who who had a a down season during his first year with the Knicks, a I would say unexpectedly down season his first year with the Knicks in spite of the fact that he had an incredible defensive run during the playoffs, an overall down season. Uh, I expect him to have a much better season in year two. I think he will be more comfortable. Me too. I think the Tibs fit was not great for him. I think that is probably clear. Tib fit was great for some players and not great for others. And I think he was one of the guys where it just didn’t quite work. I thought from a schematic standpoint, I didn’t think they like he ever looked particularly comfortable last year. And uh, from a personality standpoint, I don’t think I don’t think they hated each other. I just I don’t think they were ever quite Sympatico. They weren’t quite the same age, you know what I mean? And so I think I think just that change over and an extra year of comfort and all of that I think will help Bridges a lot. And I I would bet that he has a much better year this upcoming year than he did last year. That would be my prediction there. Um if you’re the Knicks though, forget about the player. What’s so important if you’re a team that’s operating over the cap and if you’re a team that’s operating over the first apron like the Knicks are now and did last year and that’s likely to be a second apron team the following year and moving forward. You need to maintain salary slots in order to keep that flexibility because your only way of acquiring other players is by already players making a certain amount of money. That’s right. And it is going to be incredibly important from a team building standpoint for the Knicks to maintain the salary slot. I’ll tell you what, one of the reasons the Knicks made the Bridges deal, the number one reason the Knicks made the Bridges deal is because they wanted Mikuel Bridges. The number two reason the Knicks wanted made the Bridges deals because they wanted Mikuel Bridges. The number three reason they did it is because they wanted Mikuel Bridges. But somewhere on the list was also, and this is not speculation, this is true. Bdanovich was set to make what was it 20 mil 19 point something whatever it was and he was on a non-G guarantee and the tell that they were trading for someone was guaranteeing Bdonovich’s contract that’s right so they were not going to guarantee Bdonovich’s contract if they didn’t know they could trade him for someone but if they had a trade they were going to guarantee the contract the Reason why was because, and this is on the list for why they traded for Bridges, they wanted to maintain the salary. Salary. Yeah, that’s right. That’s right. They wanted to maintain keeping that 20ish million dollar salary on the books because that could help with future flexibility because once you lose the salary slot, if you’re an overthe cap team, and I don’t need to get into the whole thing, but once once you lose that salary slot, like you just you lose that. You’re you’re done. like now now that’s one more guy who you can’t trade $20 million to bring in more money, right? And so in order to flip Bdonovich for someone who was actually worth that money, who they deemed worth that money in Bridges, they were able to on top of getting Mikuel Bridges, they were able to maintain the Bdonovich salary slot, which was previously the Evan Fornier salary slot. Yeah. Uh it was why picking up Evan Fornier’s team option was like under consideration when they had Evan Fornier. And they don’t think they were going to do it for nothing, but they were going to do it if they could find something for Fornier. It was something that was legitimately discussed. It was like, should we just pick up the Fornier team option even though he doesn’t play if we’re unable to trade him? They had the same conversation the previous summer about Derrick Rose when he had a $15 million team option. They ended up declining it because like they would have done if they hadn’t found the Bridges trade with Bugdonovich. They were like, “We can’t a $15 million salary for someone who doesn’t play. We can’t justify that and it’s going to drive us to being too expensive and we just we can’t do it.” But they had the conversation, do we just pick up the $15 million team option for Derrick Rose? Like that was under consideration. And maintaining that salary slot is very important. That is a way that they operate strategically as an organization. And that comes into play with extensions because that helps you maintain the salary slot. Just being able to lock up a guy for the long term. And we’ve seen the Knicks, we’ve seen how they value extensions because whenever they don’t agree to somebody with an extension, what happens? Yeah, they’re gone. They’re gone. Julius Randle out of there. Emanuel Quickley. Yeah. Yeah. Obby Toppen. Obi Toppin. They just knew they weren’t going to extend, so they trade him. Mhm. Like if they if they thought they were going to extend him, that trade, it wouldn’t happen the way that it did, right? And it wouldn’t happen in the timing that it did. Uh they that’s that’s their philosophy. And so they want to maintain that salary slot. So I think the Knicks will will do all they can to try to extend Mikuel Bridges. And uh and then we’ll see exactly how Bridges feels about it. Yeah, I I’m with you, man. number one, especially with the salary slot. But number two, I I get people like, “Oh, you can’t go with the sunk cost fallacy.” I think they need him. You know, unless they can they can upgrade. I don’t know what the honest situation is going to be looking like a year from now. But until then, you need him. And the you need to hope that Mike Brown can be the anti-Tibs where you getting a little bit more out of Mau Bridges. Is it adjusting his defensive role? How is his offensive role going to look? how the lineup’s going to be staggered to get the most out of him. I still think there’s something there. You know, I more more than I’m, you know, I’m not saying he’s a nothing player. I think he’s a good player. I like Mal Bridges. I wanted them to draft Mau Bridges in the in the 2017 draft. They went with Kevin Knox. It was a terrible idea. So, I I just think there’s still more there, which to me is going to be a worthwhile investment if and hopefully he gives him a little bit of a deal. He’s got to talk to Cap and he’s got to come back to the pack a little bit and take a little bit of a sacrifice.

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