When the New York Knicks traded five first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, it was supposed to be more complicated than the imbalanced deal it looked like on paper (or rather, on Twitter).
It was always a risk to trade so much draft capital for a player that everyone knew wasn't a traditional NBA star. But it was a calculated one. The team's front office likely never figured that their major swing would involve the wing getting benched so much throughout the regular season.
Or that they'd be down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, with plenty of evidence mounting in favor of benching Bridges in favor of Miles McBride in Game 4.
Evidence to bench Bridges continues to pile up in front of Mike Brown
In Game 4, Bridges took three shots and missed all of them. He assisted on two scores, but committed four turnovers that more than outweighed the impact of both combined.
Since halftime of Game 2, the 29-year-old has more turnovers than points, rebounds, and assists combined. He missed every single shot he attempted in the stretch.
Bridges played just 21 minutes in Game 4. Head coach Mike Brown continued his regular season trend of benching the wing amid his struggles to leave a mark. He went with McBride instead. That lineup – McBride alongside the other four usual starters – won their 14 minutes of action by 24 points.
It's hard to look away from that figure after a one-point loss. It's harder knowing that was the Knicks' second one-point loss in a row. Benching Bridges for McBride could help the Knicks get out of the hole they've put themselves in over the course of their first three games against the Hawks.
But it would be an awkward acknowledgement that perhaps the single-biggest risk Leon Rose's front office has taken was a failure. The problem for the Knicks, though, involves them not being able to afford to care any longer.
This is far from how Knicks' Bridges deal was supposed to play out
Part of the appeal of trading for Bridges in 2024 was that he could contribute on both ends of the court. Another was that he could do that without demanding the ball.
The two-way wing could address the Knicks' defensive need at the point of attack, without upending their offense built around Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle.
Because the team had acquired players like Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby without truly dipping into their store of first round picks, they had a surplus. And when they sent five for Bridges, they didn't have to include a single player that projected to be in their rotation that next season.
New York ended up swapping Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for Karl-Anthony Towns before Bridges officially donned one of their jerseys. But his fit was still as obvious as it would be on almost any other team. The Knicks were supposed to be contending for a championship this season, not worrying about getting out of the first round.
Especially if they don't end up landing Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, it will be impossible for fans to move forward without continually lamenting the ways in which dealing for Bridges limited the group's potential.
If the Knicks hadn't dealt for Bridges at all, Antetokounmpo likely wouldn't have any interest in joining them in the first place; the Bucks have made a habit of taking drastic measures to show him they're always willing to win at any cost. But it didn't have to be the former Net that the Knicks used that draft capital on.
An inability to turn things around against the Hawks would warrant the proverbial microscope coming back out, and putting that specific trade – and 2025 contract extension – from Rose's front office in focus.
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