The New York Knicks have a growing Mikal Bridges problem. Could the solution be to trade him for Brandon Ingram?
Trading Bridges would have seemed like an unthinkable decision even a couple of months ago. The Knicks invested five first-round picks into the two-way wing and then handed him a lucrative long-term contract extension. He had the reputation of a defensive ace, had secondary scoring chops, and the Villanova connection with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart certainly didn't hurt.
Mikal Bridges is struggling
Even so, the Knicks' iron man has been breaking down in the playoffs. He scored 0 points in Game 3 of the team's first-round series versus the Atlanta Hawks and was benched for Miles McBride down the stretch of the game.
Game 4 was hardly better. The Knicks may have won with ease, but Bridges played just 19 minutes and was +0 in a game the team won by 16. He started, he existed, but he is not impacting winning.
Bridges has played in 61 playoff games in his career, starting them all. The fewest minutes he has ever played have come in the last two games. He is being marginalized in the rotation by head coach Mike Brown.
That's not to say he has not deserved it, either. He is shooting just 25 percent from 3-point range, scoring only 7.3 points per game, and has five turnovers to just six assists across four games. If you want defensive playmaking, that's nonexistent -- just two steals and zero blocks for Bridges.
What are the Knicks to do? In the short-term, they don't have enough wings on the roster to completely excise Bridges from the rotation. The options behind him are all small guards. Jordan Clarkson is hardly the answer even with as bad Bridges is playing.
The bigger issue is long-term. The Knicks owe Bridges $150 million over the next four seasons, and the rest of the NBA is watching this series, too. There is unlikely to be a mammoth trade offer waiting for New York to pivot away from the ineffective Bridges.
What if another team was desperate enough to make a deal?
The Knicks could swap Bridges for Brandon Ingram
The Toronto Raptors are facing a problem of their own. They bought low on Brandon Ingram, and he responded with an All-Star season. However, this postseason has not been his finest work, and it's highlighting the difficulties of building a team around Scottie Barnes and Ingram, given that both like to operate in similar areas with the ball in their hands.
What if the Knicks called up the Raptors and offered to build a trade around Ingram and Bridges? The Knicks would get a more proven scorer in Ingram, who shot better than Bridges this season and is a more capable passer and playmaker. He offers more size on the perimeter and would pair with Karl-Anthony Towns as the secondary scorer for New York.
Ingram is slightly more expensive than Bridges, making about $2 million more next season, but his contract is two years shorter. That would make it easier to pivot away from him if things do not work out.
Would the Knicks miss Bridges' defense? Absolutely. But if his offense makes it too painful to play him in the playoffs, that defense doesn't matter. Trading for Ingram would lean into the offense -- a risky move, but not one without merit.
Do the Raptors have the answer to the Knicks' biggest problem? Perhaps they do.
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