"On a scale of 1-10, I give them a 5.5" – Paul Pierce isn't high on the New York Knicks' acquisition of Mikal Bridges

The New York Knicks made the first big splash of the offseason when they acquired up-and-coming wingman Mikal Bridges in a massive trade with the Brooklyn Nets. What made the transaction shrewd and highly beneficial for the Knicks was that they didn't lose any key players. As a matter of fact, the team now has the core of the Villanova Wildcats team that won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2016 and 2018.

Despite the Knicks adding more firepower to their team, former Boston Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce isn't convinced the move is enough to make New York one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference.

'Nova boys reunion

One thing New York has going for them is the terrific chemistry some of the team's key players have. Between Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Bridges, the Knicks have a solid group of former Villanova standouts who enjoy playing together. This could be a significant advantage for the team as they look to make a deeper postseason run in 2025. However, Pierce found the whole Villanova reunion to be ridiculous.

"Are they gonna sign Jay Wright too as coach? I mean, goodness gracious, come on. He just got the whole Villanova team on the New York Knicks. On a scale of one to ten, I give them about a 5.5," the "Truth" asserted .

The Knicks already have Brunson, the All-Star left-handed spitfire scorer who averaged 28.7 points in the regular season before bumping his scoring to 32.4 in the playoffs. The team still has Julius Randle, another All-Star who missed most of last season due to a shoulder injury. Pierce assessed that the Knicks needed another go-to scorer who could pick up the slack in case they get bitten by the injury bug once again.

"I think they needed another superstar. Yeah, they got more depth, of course, and this is something they needed. But I felt like they had a little depth; they just didn't play it," Pierce stated. "You know, you have (Deuce) McBride, who probably should have played more minutes, (Alec) Burke should have played more minutes early in the playoffs."

East is going to get better

The Knicks are getting a versatile wingman who can score and defend with the best of them. Mikal played all 82 games for Brooklyn last season and averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. However, as superb as NY can get, several teams in the East figure to get better as well.

After a year of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo playing alongside each other, the Milwaukee Bucks are poised to elevate their game and fortify their team. The same can be said for Indiana and Philadelphia, teams beset with injuries in the postseason.

"The thing to me is people tend to forget the other teams in the East that are going to get better. They don't just jump up to a threat to the Celtics because they were one round away. Indiana's gonna be better next year, too. (Benedict) Mathurin is gonna come back. I mean, you know, you gotta figure a healthy Philly team probably beats them if (Joel) Embiid's not playing on one leg," the 2008 NBA Finals MVP stated.

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Have to work on chemistry

The former Villanova aces may be fine playing together. However, they still have to share the ball and play nice with the rest of the team. With Mikal joining the fray, the Knicks now have several guys who need the ball in their hands to be effective, which may present some challenges in finding a balance on offense.

"I like what they did in adding depth, but the thing is, they're gonna have chemistry issues," Pierce quipped. "Brunson giving you 29 a game, so now you gotta come back with Randle the next year, who gave you 25 a game. You gotta implement him. Now you gotta implement Bridges, who averaged 20. So how is that gonna change the way Brunson played? He has to turn into a passing guard now, but we all know he's at his best when he's scoring."

While having multiple legitimate scorers on a team can become an issue, it's a good problem to have for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who squeezed every last ounce of juice he could from his injury-ravaged roster before falling to the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.

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