Mikal Bridges is being lauded for giving back money in a new contract extension with the New York Knicks -- a story that smells patently false when you look a little deeper.
The New York Knicks made a significant investment to trade for Mikal Bridges. They sent six first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets to secure the services of the NBA's iron man, a perimeter hawk and rising on-ball shot creator. He looked like the perfect fit for any roster, but especially for a team like the Knicks which needed wing depth.
The season Bridges had last year was...fine; he struggled to be efficient in his offensive role and clearly took a step back as a defender. Playing alongside Jalen Brunson didn't seem to embolden him at all and he avoided contact like the plague. He also played the most minutes of anyone in the NBA and didn't battle a single injury. There are pluses and minuses to the season Bridges just had, as any Knicks fan will tell you.
With Bridges eligible for a contract extension, the most the Knicks could offer him was $156 million over four seasons. The two sides agreed last week to a four-year, $150 million deal that was immediately advertised as an act of charity from Bridges to the Knicks to allow them to further build out their roster.
That smells an awful lot like a bold-faced lie.
Bridges is not some selfless saint
The first point of order here is that Bridges did not take $6 million less per season on his next contract; he took $6 million less overall, or about $1.5 million per season. That's not a grand gesture; that's a miniscule haircut. Perhaps that does end up helping the Knicks balance the second apron in the years to come, but it isn't earth-shattering.
Do you want earth-shattering? It's Jalen Brunson taking $11-13 million less per season when he agreed to a contract extension last summer. He could absolutely have waited and signed a max deal this summer, but instead he agreed to a deal well under his value that substantially changed the team's future ability to maintain a contender.
That brings us to the second point: Bridges didn't give back money at all. The reason he is making slightly less overall is that he negotiated a player option and a trade kicker into his deal. It is very common to trade some money for some other benefits, and the Knicks likely saw the tradeoff as worth it to add that small amount of financial flexibility.
Finally, Bridges isn't actually worth this deal at all. He is not accepting a lower contract to benevolently care for the Knicks and their billionaire owner; he had a down season, one that didn't deserve this level of contract, but because there was some level of agreement between the two sides at the time of the trade last year there was a middle ground where Bridges could negotiate this deal. He will need to play better in future seasons to justify this amount.
An act of charity? Try again. Bridges used all of his leverage to sign a contract that was very nearly everything he could ask for, and it's in the best interests of the team and Bridges' camp to tell the world this was a gift instead of a negotiated tradeoff.
Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.