The Price of 5 Picks: Mikal Bridges carries Knicks price tag he never asked for
Kevin Durant. James Harden. Paul George. Rudy Gobert. Mikal Bridges. Desmond Bane.
Full stop.
Those are the players in recent memory who’ve commanded the kind of draft capital that reshapes franchises — the sort of seismic move that mortgages a future and, in return, attaches expectations normally reserved for franchise-carrying superstars.
It’s pressure Bridges understands well after the Knicks sent five first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets two summers ago.
And as history has shown, living up to that cost is almost impossible.
The Phoenix Suns, for example, moved Bridges, Cam Johnson and four future first-rounders for Durant — only to later flip the return package again for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and five seconds.
The Nets gutted their roster and sent out three first-round picks for what amounted to an 80-game Harden rental before dealing him to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, Seth Curry and lesser draft compensation.
The Clippers shipped reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five firsts for George, then his watched regression and eventual departure.
The Timberwolves sent four first-rounders and five role players for Gobert — arguably the most successful outcome of the group, yet still a move debated across the league.
Now add Bridges and the Knicks — and Bane and the Magic — to that same conversation.
The difference? Orlando’s injuries obscure Bane’s evaluation. New York’s expectations do not obscure Bridges’.
The trade cost the Knicks flexibility — particularly a cleaner path to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo — while leaving Bridges evaluated through a superstar lens and increased pressure and scrutiny he has never played under before.
The inconsistency shows up most on offense. He scored nine points in Thursday’s 15-point loss to a Detroit Pistons team missing both centers. Defensively, the reputation hasn’t matched every night either: Cade Cunningham scored 42 points with Bridges as the primary defender.
But Bridges didn’t choose the price tag.
Sean Marks did. The Nets extracted the picks. The Knicks paid them. Bridges inherited the weight.
He remains what he has always been — an elite complementary two-way wing — now measured against franchise-cornerstone expectations.
“I guess [he does have high expectations given the outgoing draft picks]. At the end of the day, Kal’s gonna do what he’s gotta do. He’s gonna find his way,” said Josh Hart. “Like I said, I think there’s times where we can do a better job of making sure he’s involved offensively and aggressive and get him into his spots, same thing with OG [Anunoby[ and JC [Jordan Clarkson] when he plays — someone like that who can score, we’ve gotta make sure we put him in position to be successful and not just doing it within the flow of the offense.”
Inside the locker room, the Knicks aren’t grading him game-to-game. They’re grading moments.
Because Bridges has already authored the type of plays that justified the acquisition — clamping Cunningham in a Game 6 elimination last postseason, then delivering a decisive defensive stop on Jaylen Brown to end Boston’s season in Round 2.
That’s the bet. Especially against a Detroit team now 3-0 against New York this season with an average margin of victory of 28 points.
Maybe the Knicks traded five picks for Bridges hoping he would ascend to superstardom. Maybe they were OK with making the move because they viewed him as a finishing piece for a championship contender.
One way or another, those picks are gone. They are a distant memory and now part of the Nets’ future. Those picks will, too, be forgotten in New York if Bridges rises to the occasion once more in the playoffs.
“With Kal, I’ll let y’all figure that one out. We know what we have in him. We know what he means to the team,” said Hart. “And the beauty of him is he can have a terrible game the whole game and make a game-winning play, and I think he’s done that — I wouldn’t say terrible game — but he’s done that plenty of times, making game-winning plays late in the game when we need him. That’s why we got him.”
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