Knicks reportedly don’t want to talk extensions with Mikal Bridges until 2025

While Mikal Bridges has been in line for a two-year contract extension worth approximately $61 million since early October, it doesn’t appear the Knicks will choose that option, at least not anytime soon. Apparently the Manhattan organization will try to wait until next year as the forward could come in handy in a trade.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks was one of the first to report this, assuring that the club is not currently considering an extension. “The indication I’ve gotten from just talking to people is that there won’t be an extension,” the insider said during an appearance on the show’s latest show. Hope Collective podcast on Sunday.

“That he waits until next year. Because he is limited in terms of the six month rule, as far as he can extend. Next year he can extend for another four years. So it just gives him more flexibility. That could certainly change on October 21st. Maybe this trade will change that way of thinking,” he added.

Here’s how the Knicks’ maneuvering in the Mikal Bridges trade allowed them to trade for KAThttps://t.co/jVDXbMcXSL

— Knicks Nation (@KnicksNationCP) October 2, 2024

The athlete’s situation is determined by a certain set of rules, and in this case the six-month rule applies to those who are traded. In the case of those already six months into a trade, players eligible for extensions can only sign contracts that will lead them to a four-year deal. Because Mikal has two more years under contract, he can only extend for another two years.

With this new scenario on the table, the Knicks could trade Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle once the Charlotte Hornets became the third team involved in the negotiations. While both of their stars (plus a top-13 protected 2025 first-round pick from Detroit) were sent to Minnesota, the Wolves traded back Karl-Anthony Towns.

After news of these blockbuster negotiations first hit the internet this weekend, we can’t help but wonder which team got the most out of it. While it’s clear that New York would deserve the better player, they still lose two stars from their starting lineup. Former Memphis director John Hollinger has his doubts.

“I’m afraid this will make their selection too top-heavy and erode their wing depth,” he shared with the press last weekend. “New York’s remaining group is now leaning a little too heavily on the Thibodeau fantasy of using just six players for all 82 games all night and hoping they don’t collapse in the playoffs all at once.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently praised the “fantastic” record of the Knicks, with star Jalen Brunson leading the charge

Something is happening in New York basketball and everyone around them can feel the tremendous change. The team’s performance in recent years seems somehow like a rebirth compared to the rest of this millennium, and this has caught the attention of NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who recently cited the organization as an example of smart management .

According to the director of the competition, they are breaking the pattern that previously controlled the market. “We hear less about these big-small market dynamics than we used to, especially with this new system we’ve put in place where it’s not just a matter of who’s willing to pay the biggest luxury tax, because there are competitive consequences even if you’re willing to go into tax,” he said last Wednesday.

“And so we see the effects of strong management in a positive way. And you can name Oklahoma City, they’ve managed to stay competitive,” Silver insisted. “They have their ebbs and flows, but an incredibly managed team. And now you see that with the Knicks.”

Not long ago, it would have been almost unthinkable to compare the Knicks to the Thunder, another franchise that has broken the barriers between large and small markets. For nearly two decades, the Manhattan club became one of the worst teams in the league while paying the highest luxury taxes. “Congratulations to the Knicks and Jalen for creating an environment he wanted to be in,” he concluded.