It’s the time in the offseason when NBA players are taking their vacation and their minds off basketball. So when Jalen Brunson dropped a gem of an anecdote about his new New York Knicks teammate Mikal Bridges, it came as a shock to everyone.
“That man got off the plane from London last night (August 16). And then he was in the gym this morning (August 17), bright early,” Brunson revealed at Fanatics Fest NYC. “That’s everything you should know about him.”
The packed crowd at The Theatre in Jacob Javits Convention Center roared in approval.
While Brunson and Bridges are excited to be reunited after they teamed up at Villanova in college, there is immense pressure to deliver this coming season after what the Knicks gave up to get him across the Brooklyn Bridge from the Nets.
The Knicks traded four unprotected and one top-four protected pick for Bridges, who has never been an All-Star in his first six seasons in the league. But for Brunson, that is so worth it.
“He just fits the puzzle perfectly,” Brunson said, like he just can do whatever you ask of him and then more. And that’s kind of a person he is.”
Bridges shared that sentiment during his introductory press conference on July 9.
“I think I fit in really well,” Bridges told reporters.
The 28-year-old Bridges would likely return to his complementary role after averaging 21 points over a season and a half as the No. 1 option for a Nets team that lost Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. He is expected to start alongside Brunson in the Knicks’ backcourt with OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson in the frontcourt.
Mikal Bridges Expected to Sign Team-Friendly Extension
The Knicks acquired Bridges, who is still locked for two more years on a team-friendly deal. The former All-Defensive wing will earn roughly $48 million over the next two seasons, a bargain for what he brings to the table as a skilled two-way player.
After Brunson gave the Knicks a hometown discount for signing a four-year, 156.5 million extension, Bridges is expected to follow suit, according to Substack’s NBA insider Marc Stein.
“League sources say that the expectation now, furthermore, is that Bridges is likely to follow Brunson’s lead and sign a team-friendly deal of his own when it’s his turn to negotiate an extension (he’s eligible for a shorter and less attractive deal as soon as Oct. 1 or a four-year extension if he waits until after the season) that cements himself at MSG alongside his fellow former Villanova teammates Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo,” Stein wrote on July 15.
Knicks’ Projections with Mikal Bridges
Coming off a 50-win campaign and one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks are projected to be better with Bridges.
They are one of the teams expected to challenge defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
ESPN’s panel of experts slotted the Knicks as the third-best team in the East, just a point shy of the revamped Philadelphia 76ers, who have added nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George into the mix.
The Celtics are the overwhelming favorites with 97 points while the Sixers are a distant second with 39 points and 38 points for the Knicks from the ESPN experts who ranked their top choices for the East and West — and the eventual NBA champion — with a first-place vote receiving five points, a second-place vote receiving three and a third-place vote receiving one.
