Mikal Bridges has been eligible to sign a four-year, $156.2 million extension with the New York Knicks since the end of the 2025 NBA Finals. The absence of an agreement after an entire month could signal a massive problem. Or it could just be Bridges ensuring he won’t be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in the middle of the season.
Yes, this is all about Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Perhaps you think the sun has set on New York’s dream of landing the two-time MVP. Well, think again. The Knicks are reportedly still hoping to win the Giannis trade sweepstakes, if and when they begin. His recent noncommittal assessment of the future will not do anything to diminish that hope.
In the event he does become available, Bridges could be an integral part of talks. New York currently doesn’t have any first-round picks to offer, and the Bucks will likely value anyone who keeps them competitive in the post-Giannis era, since they don’t control the rights to their own first-rounder until 2031.
Signing Bridges to a new deal now removes him from the table. Players who sign his type of extension cannot be traded for six months. And yet, if he puts pen to paper soon, that restriction will lift before the February 2026 trade deadline, meaning he could still be dealt next season.
Mikal Bridges might be following in Lauri Markkanen’s footsteps
The date Knicks fans and Bridges should have circled is August 6. The NBA trade deadline almost always falls on the first Thursday in February. If it follows that trend this coming season, it will land on February 5.
Assuming this holds, Bridges will be trade-eligible before the deadline if he signs an extension by August 5 or at any point before. That timeline allows at least six months to pass prior to Feb. 5. Bridges can guarantee that he’ll remain in New York through all of next season if he accepts the extension on August 6 or anytime thereafter.
You better believe players think in these terms. Lauri Markkanen gamed out his own renegotiate-and-extend deal with the Utah Jazz last summer in this exact way. He inked his new agreement one day after the cutoff to be trade-eligible by the end of the 2024-25 season.
The Knicks can’t afford to gamble with Mikal Bridges’ future
Now, the Knicks could remove any extension offer from the table on August 5, or just not offer one to Bridges at all. Both are terrible ideas.
Leaving him unsigned turns into a disaster if Giannis doesn’t get moved by the 2026 trade deadline. Bridges will enter unrestricted free agency next summer, at which time he could feasibly be the most sought after talent, depending on how certain player options and other extension eligibilities plan out.
The Knicks still have the ability to offer him more than any other team during the 2026 offseason. But they are already toeing fine financial lines even after Jalen Brunson’s massive sacrifice. Extending Bridges this summer is likely the difference between paying him $156.2 million and shelling out more than $200 million to keep him for the next four years.
So, just as it’s in the 28-year-old's best interests to delay an extension until after August 5, it's in New York’s best interests to let him sign it whenever he pleases. If that ends up complicating a midseason Giannis pursuit, then so be it. The Knicks can’t guarantee he’ll be on the block anyway. They know Bridges will only be more expensive next summer.