It's no secret that Stephen A. Smith is a huge New York Knicks fan, so it wasn't surprising that SAS almost lost it when he heard the news that his Knicks had acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets .
According to a report from Smith's ESPN colleague Adrian Wojnarowski, Bridges has been sent to the Knicks for Bojan Bogdanovic and six future draft picks, including four unprotected first-rounders. Although the trade is not yet official, it's good as done when Woj tweets it. And so Stephen A. was in a celebratory mood on Tuesday night.
"I know y'all sitting out there and y'all saying, 'It's Mikal Bridges, he's a good player, but it ain't like y'all got KD or somebody,'" Smith said in a Twitter video. "Bump all that, okay? Chemistry matters, reliability matters, consistency matters, defense matters. The brother can shoot. The brother can play. I'm sorry, I like this move by the New York Knicks. He's young, he's energetic, he's seasoned, he defends, and he fits right into the culture of the New York Knicks, and that's all I ask."
One of the best young two-way players in the NBA
Bridges is coming off a season where he averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 steals, and 1.0 steals per game while starting all 82 games for the Nets. Although those numbers are slightly down from his breakout 2022-23 campaign, Mikal is without a doubt one of the best young two-way players in the NBA today.
The VIllanova product is a career 37.5% three-point shooter who has made at least two three-pointers per game in each of the last two seasons. Defensively, ESPN wrote that he ranks 5th in FG% allowed (42.9%) among 50 players who have contested at least 2,500 shots in the last three seasons. His offense and shooting will be a huge boost for the Knicks, and his defensive mentality will fit right into what Thibs is doing in New York.
"You crawl before you walk," added Smith. "We crawled last year, we gonna walk and we close the sprint. I still think we need another piece. But we have moved in the right direction. I like this! Go, New York, Go, New York, go!"
Related: "We don't always get what we want romantically" - NBA Analyst thinks Klay Thompson pulling off a Dwyane Wade-esque free-agency move
Knicks have right to be optimistic
The 10th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft will join a Knicks team that finished the 2023-24 regular season as the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. More significantly, Bridges will join former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo on the Knicks. The four led the Wildcats to the 2016 NCAA men's basketball title. Bridges, Brusnon, and DiVincenzo won a second March Madness championship in 2018.
Many believed that the Knicks were headed at least to the Eastern Conference Finals in the just-concluded NBA playoffs, despite playing without All-Star forward Julius Randle for much of the season and postseason. Behind the incredible play of Jalen Brunson, New York went on a magical first-round series against Joel Embiid and the Sixers. They came up short in the next round when injuries began piling up on a banged-up core.
But with the addition of Bridges, a healthy Randle, plus if they could re-sign OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks should be among the early favorites to challenge the Celtics in the East next season.
Related: “Acting like he’s boogieman” - Josh Hart warns Reggie Miller not to bring up their 2024 playoff incident again
Most Popular
Comments / 0