Forking over five first-round picks and one swap in the Mikal Bridges trade was considered an overpay by the New York Knicks in real time. Nothing has happened since to change that sentiment. Even when the 28-year-old is at his best, the trade has remained an overpay, sometimes coming across as a massive mistake.
And If you believe ESPN’s Shams Charania, this feeling will only get worse this offseason, when the Knicks are (almost assuredly) going to miss out on better opportunities—and absolute chaos.
"I think this offseason might be the craziest ever," the NBA Insider said during his recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show."Because I think what you have right now is—the parity of the league, it's so thin right now. As far as the line of, you could win a championship, or you might be falling into the lottery."
Could Shams be overselling what happens this summer? Maybe. But that won’t make the what-could-have-been game any less painful to play for the Knicks—and their fans.
Big NBA Names Will Be On The Move
New York’s activity over the past year-and-a-half or so speaks to expiring patience. The Knicks front office waited, and waited, and waited, for the right big name to hit the open market. Jalen Brunson’s emergence as an on-the-ballot MVP candidate complicated that search, but also made it more worthwhile.
Then, after all that waiting, New York struck, again and again, and then again. First it was OG Anunoby. Then came Bridges. And finally, they acquired Karl-Anthony Towns, just before the start of training camp. The Knicks were clearly tired of waiting. And Brunson was too good to wait any longer.
There is merit to acting. You can’t predict the future. But huge names are about to hit the chopping block.
Giannis Antetokounmpo appears to be on the verge of leaving the Milwaukee Bucks. Kevin Durant will be traded, again, unless the Phoenix Suns truly have no idea what they’re doing.
Devin Booker’s future will be thrust under the microscope once KD’s own is settled. Anthony Davis suddenly looks even more out of place on a Dallas Mavericks squad about to draft and develop Cooper Flagg, and without Kyrie Irving in the picture until the start of 2026 while he recovers from a torn left ACL.
Jayson Tatum’s ruptured right Achilles, which he suffered against these Knicks, will thrust the Boston Celtics into a different timeline. Never mind Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown could become available as Boston looks to slash costs.
This list will go on. Some familiar names would never be a good fit—Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant, etc. But Zion Williamson remains tantalizing despite injury risks, and probably costs fewer assets than Bridges.
There is also another surprise name always around the corner. Nobody saw the Towns trade coming. Luka Doncic was just traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for crying out loud.
The Knicks probably don’t have the assets to make another blockbuster
This is the benefit of waiting, of balancing the urge to win now with the ability to pounce when it matters most. The Knicks did that for a while, and then they went all-in, at the wrong time, and for the wrong player.
Joining the pending blockbuster frenzy this summer is virtually impossible for New York now. This team feels struck. Without a single first-round pick to trade, and assuming Brunson is untouchable, Anunoby, Bridges, and Towns are the team’s most enticing assets.
No combination of those players gets you Giannis. Or AD. Or Booker. Maybe you can enter the Durant sweepstakes, but then the Knicks must grapple with whether they can even afford to move Bridges or Anunoby for anyone while still protecting Brunson on defense.
This isn’t a shot at any one player. It isn’t even the strongest indictment against the front office. The Knicks waited, responsibly, for a moment, for a summer, like this one—until they didn’t.
Now, with offseason chaos on the horizon and more impactful names than Bridges up for grabs, they’re going to pay the price for not waiting longer.