Trade Idea Sends New York Knicks Star to Warriors for Bench Help

The NBA Finals are upon us, but rumors surrounding the New York Knicks’ next move continue dominating headlines. Who will they pick as their next head coach following Tom Thibodeau’s firing? Will they land Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant in a trade? If so, who would they give up as the centerpiece of such a deal?

Mikal Bridges is among one of the most popular candidates for the Knicks to dangle in their next big swap, having just finished a rocky season in which he failed to fit in on offense while the coaching staff ran him dry, per his own complaints. He still holds value as an acclaimed defender and a capable tertiary scorer, albeit maybe not as much as the Knicks assumed when they dealt five first-round picks for the former Brooklyn Net.

Dean Simon of The Sporting News envisions the Knicks potentially opting for a fresh start for the fringe-All-Star, identifying Bridges as an optimal running mate for Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III, Draymond Green and the rest of the Golden State Warriors.

His two-way skillset and relative youth compared to the rest of the star Warriors could provide the Warriors with a necessary spark.

“He contributed 17.6 points and 3.7 assists on an impressive 57.0% effective field goal percentage,” Simon writes, “and there’s plenty of reason to believe that he could mesh well with Curry, Butler and Green under head coach Steve Kerr’s offensive system.”

Bridges and his potentially expiring deal could net the Knicks some youthful and versatile role players to pad their bench, a sore spot that often demanded more out of the talented starting lineup. The analyst sees New York wringing complementary guards like Buddy Hield and Moses Moody out of the deal, as well as a young big in Trayce Jackson-Davis who got buried in the Golden State rotation.

The hypothetical trade proposal would inch the Knicks closer to looking like a more well-balanced roster, even though those fringe-rotation players may not come close to replicating Bridges’ upside in a big game when the bench players don’t get as many opportunities. He’d certainly help the Warriors almost immediately, but the Knicks would have to make sure that their trade return could actually factor into next season’s plans of contention.

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