New York Knicks ahead Mikal Bridges has agreed to a four-year, $150 million contract extension with the franchise, his brokers, Sam Goldfeder and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports activities Administration, instructed ESPN’s Shams Charania on Thursday.
The deal features a participant choice for 2029-30 and a commerce kicker. Bridges is ineligible to be traded for six months after the signing extension.
By finishing this new contract, Bridges takes a slight low cost from his max extension quantity ($156 million) to assist New York preserve flexibility to proceed constructing the roster. Bridges, together with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and others, helped lead the Knicks to their first Japanese Convention finals look in 25 years final season.
With the Bridges deal sewn up — his contract was initially set to run out after the 2025-26 season — probably the most urgent query left in New York’s offseason has been resolved. The Brunson extension in 2024 and now the Bridges deal have given the Knicks flexibility to function below each aprons of the wage cap, giving them room so as to add extra gamers to the roster.
Bridges was coming off an up-and-down inaugural marketing campaign with New York after having been traded to the membership for 5 first-round draft picks final summer season, which prompted hypothesis that the Knicks would possibly search to deal him quite than hammer out a big-money extension.
Bridges, who turns 29 in August, struggled early on because the Knicks used him to protect flooring generals and ball handlers, a job the one-time runner-up for Defensive Participant of the 12 months was unaccustomed to. His free throw makes an attempt had been down sharply from the season earlier than as he adjusted from being a primary or second choice with the lowly Brooklyn Nets to being fourth within the Knicks’ pecking order on many nights. And he raised eyebrows inside the comparatively buttoned-down group in March when he mentioned he had requested then-coach Tom Thibodeau to again off a bit on the starters’ heavy minutes, telling reporters “generally it isn’t enjoyable on the physique.”
However he was additionally efficient in numerous methods, once more taking part in in each single recreation whereas ending second within the NBA in nook 3s made and third within the league — trailing Kevin Durant and Devin Booker — in area objective share from midrange (minimal 150 makes an attempt). He got here by in a handful of key moments in the course of the postseason. Except for having a pair of double-digit fourth quarters within the Celtics’ collection, he additionally made key stops on the ultimate performs of Video games 1 and a couple of, through which the Knicks staged back-to-back 20-point comeback victories.
