Memo to Celtics: Knicks in win-now mode after Mikal Bridges trade and OG Anunoby signing
Nets forward Mikal Bridges reacts after scoring against the Heat during the first half at Barclays Center on Nov. 25, 2023. Credit: Noah K. Murray
Look out, Boston. The Knicks are coming for you.
It doesn’t matter that your team is stacked. It doesn’t matter that you bludgeoned the competition this past year, capping a 64-win regular season with a 16-3 run through the playoffs on the way to your franchise’s 18th title.
The Knicks, who haven’t won a title in more than 50 years, think that their time is now. So much so that they were willing to risk paying a fairly steep long-term price in order to add a player who they think will help them make a run at you next season and then by giving out the richest deal in franchise history to their most important would-be free agent.
That, more than anything, has to be the takeaway from this week.
First, with the blockbuster trade the Knicks made Tuesday night when they sent a heavy load of future draft picks and Bojan Bogdanovic to the Nets for Mikal Bridges, and then agreeing to terms with OG Anunoby to bring him back Wednesday.
Bridges is not an A-list superstar. He is not the best player out there. But he is the best player for this Knicks team, which is so much more than the sum of its parts.
This Knicks team is all about chemistry. It’s why they were able to survive the loss of starter after starter in the regular season before injuries caught up with them in Game 7 of the conference semis against the Pacers. It’s why player after player — everyone from Isaiah Hartenstein to Miles McBride — was able to step up and play major minutes when called upon.
Since signing Jalen Brunson, Knicks president Leon Rose has been meticulous in identifying and adding the right pieces — pieces like Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart — to work with his star point guard. Bridges, who played at Villanova with Brunson, DiVincenzo and Hart, is the perfect player to drop into this locker room for a number of reasons.
First, Bridges is perfectly suited to be the No. 3 option behind Brunson and Julius Randle. Bridges was at his best when he was third player on a talented Phoenix team and clearly wasn’t happy with being “the guy” on a bad team like the Nets.
Second, he’s incredibly durable. Bridges has played in all 474 games of his pro career and never missed a game at Villanova either. Bridges led the league in minutes played in 2021-22 and 2022-23. All this has to be incredibly appealing to a team coached by anti-load management king Tom Thibodeau.
Third, he is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Bridges was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, and his play on defense will go a long way toward covering up one of Brunson’s few weaknesses.
Finally, Bridges has a rich history with Brunson, DiVincenzo and Hart from their days at Villanova. Yes, it’s a little weird to have four players from that championship team on one roster. But it’s also kind of cool, too, and a testament to the enduring bond and power of college friendships.
Of course, adding Bridges wasn’t the only thing the Knicks needed to do if they want to contend with the big boys in Boston. It was critical that they re-signed Anunoby, considering all the Knicks gave up to get him and that the team went 26-5 when he was in the lineup.
The team also has to figure out what to do with Hartenstein, who came up big after Mitchell Robinson was injured. Hartenstein will get more money than the Knicks can pay him elsewhere, but there might be some way to convince him to return at a discount.
The Knicks clearly believe that this is their time, this is the window when they have to go for it.
Brunson is in the prime of his career and, with the abuse his body takes playing with abandon, that window is not going to last for another decade. As good as the Celtics are, the Knicks need to load up and go for them.
Can they really challenge a team like Boston? There are no guarantees, except that the Knicks will be a team to watch this coming season, which is something you aren’t going to be able to say about the Nets for a while as they head into yet another rebuild.
The trade, which was the first made between the two teams since 1983, might be one of those rare win-wins.
After the way things went sour with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets are not an attractive landing place for top talent through free agency or trades. (Bridges certainly wasn’t happy to be there.) They need to add a bunch of young players through the draft and hope that their current coaching staff can develop them like Kenny Atkinson did last decade.
As for the Knicks, on the surface it looks like they gave up more than they did. The four unprotected first-round picks will all likely be in the 20s, and maybe not in the early 20s. That’s good enough to get a young player who needs a couple years of development, but not good enough to add to a team that wants to win now.
And, note to Boston: The Knicks want to win now.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.