Ranking Knicks' top 4 offseason priorities after Jalen Brunson extension

3. Mikal Bridges extension

A month ago, Knicks fans didn't care about a Bridges extension. Why? He was still in Brooklyn, and a New York trade wasn't on the radar. The notification from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski shook the entire NBA.

Bridges will be eligible to sign an extension on Oct. 1, a few weeks before the regular season begins. On Monday, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the expectation is the 27-year-old will sign a team-friendly deal (subscription required). He could follow in Brunson's footsteps. The most the Knicks can offer him this offseason is a two-year, $72.5 million deal.

He has two full seasons left on his current contract. Bridges will make $23.3 million in 2024-25 and $24.9 million in 2025-26.

If he waits until next summer to sign, the most New York can offer is a four-year deal worth $156 million (does that sound familiar?). It wouldn't be the end of the world if Bridges doesn't sign an extension before the 2024-25 season starts, but there's plenty of reason to believe he will.