Offseason Report Card: Knicks get an A+, an A, three Bs and four Cs for summer moves

Traded for Mikal Bridges

Traded Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite, Unprotected first-round picks in 2025, '27, '29 and '31, Milwaukee's 2025 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick swap, 2025 second-round pick for Mikal Bridges, Keita Bates-Diop, Juan Vaulet and a 2026 second-round pick.

There have been millions of words written about the Mikal Bridges trade already, including tens of thousands on this website. We won't attempt to rehash them all here. Suffice it to say, this deal is a massive swing for the fences.

The Knicks have been amassing their assets for years, waiting for a big-time star to come available. That hasn't happened, but what did happen was Jalen Brunson becoming that star. This opened up an alternate path, one where the Knicks built up a truly elite collection of "role players" to surround Brunson with.

That ended up being Mikal Bridges, a player who has never been an All-Star nor averaged more than 20.1 points per game in a full season. On the other hand, Bridges was one of the premier 3-and-D players in the league who then leveled up into an on-ball shot creator in Brooklyn, and he hasn't missed a single game in four seasons. Add in that Bridges went to Villanova with the core of the Knicks' roster and a deal for Bridges made a lot of sense.

The cost was significant, at five first-round picks and a swap, but none of those picks looks to be particularly strong, certainly not the first few as the Knicks project to be a contender. Bridges is also on a low enough contract that the Knicks can reasonably stay under the second luxury tax apron for the next two seasons before a new deal kicks in; it's also possible he gives some money back in negotiations because of the Villanova connection.

Can Bridges be the No. 2 option on a contending offense? That's unclear and puts pressure on the Knicks to either keep Julius Randle or find another player to bring in, but he has more on-ball ability and shot creation than most 3-and-D wings, but he also can slide into that role and help elevate the team. It's a solid pickup, if an expensive one.

Grade: B+