Mikal Bridges, the Knicks & the Second Apron of Hell
In trading for Mikal Bridges, the Knicks complete the ‘Nova Knicks prophecy that was foretold. But could things not be as sunshine and rainbows as they seem?
Well just like that, out of nowhere and to the dismay of the 15 Nets fans out there, Mikal Bridges is a Knick and I couldn’t be more excited to see all the ‘Nova boys on the same floor again (please bring Ryan Arcidiacono back, Leon). Despite this excitement, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t talk about the potential downsides of this move.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the trade. Bridges is likely to return to the player we saw in Phoenix, which is an All-Defensive 3-and-D wing and one of if not THE best role players in the NBA. Not to mention he’s on a pretty damn great contract for the value he’ll be bringing, making $23 million this year and $24.9 million next year. Considering guys like Grayson Allen and Cameron Johnson earn similarly, this is a steal.
There have been some wild opinions around Bridges during his time in Brooklyn that he can’t be a number-one option, which is just silly. There were never any expectations for Bridges to be that, and just because he got hot at the end of the 2022-23 season doesn’t mean that was going to be sustainable. The Nets just put him in a horrible position that forced him to have a way-too-heavy workload on offense, taking away from his defensive capabilities. With the Knicks he’ll be in an offense that will spread the ball out between four players, including himself, making it easy for him to return to form.
So, Bridges fits well and he’s on a good contract. Some may complain that the Knicks gave up a ton of picks for him, but they still have plenty to spare to potentially pull off another deal. With all of these positives, what could go wrong? Well . . . their offseason plans may change thanks to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The new CBA sucks
Under the new CBA, the Knicks are $6 million below the first apron. The trade for Bridges doesn’t change that, since he and Bojan Bogdanović make similar amounts. However, with OG Anunoby signing his massive 5-year, $212 million extension, they are extremely close to entering the first apron, and once they fill out the roster the Knicks will likely be hard-capped. While this isn’t the end of the world, it’s one step closer to the second apron and a whole load of stipulations that will hurt the Knicks’ chances of improving the roster moving forward. Currently New York is roughly $16 million below the second apron, but once the roster is filled out, they’ll be even closer.
With Isaiah Hartenstein eligible to receive around $17 million annually from the Knicks thanks to his Early Bird Rights, the Knicks won’t be able to bring back their big man without entering hard cap hell. If the Knicks go down that route, the following restrictions take effect:
No access to the tax-payers mid-level exception; can only sign players for the minimum
No access to buyout players. If a player's salary at the beginning of a league year is above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, he cannot sign with a second-apron team if he is waived during that season
No aggregating salaries in trades
No flexibility in matching salaries through trades
Cannot send cash in any trades
Cannot sign-and-trade own players in exchange for other players
No trading first-round picks that are seven years away
That’s just the big stuff; some smaller stipulations could harm New York as well. This leaves the Knicks with two options: re-sign Hartenstein, enter second apron hell and pray this team is good enough to win a championship, or let Hartenstein walk and use their mid-level exception to sign a back-up center on the open market. While this will sink them further into the first apron, that’s not nearly as bad as being in the second.
Under the first apron, the major restrictions are that the Knicks cannot acquire a player in a sign-and-trade (which they won’t need to), they cannot use pre-existing trade exceptions (which isn’t a crazy big deal) and they cannot sign a waived player with a pre-existing salary of $12.9 million or more. For some teams this may cause issues, but given the Knicks’ circumstances they’d likely be fine in this territory.
This is the price winning teams have to pay now. The Knicks are going to enter the second apron if they bring Hartenstein back, so trading for Bridges – who brings more value – and letting I-Hart walk to stay out of the first or second apron for as long as possible is likely the right move.
Losing Hartenstein will really suck, both because of what he provides on the floor and the culture he brings. However, as I talked about in my article discussing his free agency, there are plenty of solid options the Knicks can bring in, not to mention Precious Achiuwa, a restricted free agent who likely won’t cost a ton to bring back.
If none of what I’m saying makes sense (totally get if it; the new rules are giving me a headache), this graph created by Bobby Marks shows where the Knicks are financially regarding both aprons.
Where does Bridges fit on this roster?
In terms of pure playing style and the power of friendship he provides, Bridges is a near-perfect fit with the Knicks. While positionally things could get a little wonky, as he’s has never been a full-time shooting guard, his game on both sides of the ball makes it easy to see him filling in the position.
As of now, it appears that the Knicks starting lineup could be Bridges, Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. On paper, this is a pretty stacked roster; hopefully Bridges can make it work as the two-guard work, because I doubt he wants to consistently come off the bench for the first time since his second season and there’s no way in hell OG just signed a massive contract to be a sixth man. If Bridges can’t make the two work, things could get awkward for Randle, who almost feels like the odd man out for a couple of reasons: his playoff failures, which New York may not want to take the risk on, but most importantly a potentially massive contract extension coming up that will for sure push the Knicks into the second apron.
Adam Silver will pay for his crimes
Maybe this is the deranged thoughts of a Knicks fan up well past his bedtime trying to make sense of the chaos that ensued, but for the first time in a while I feel like Randle has a realistic chance of getting traded in order to sharpen the starting lineup fit-wise and help avoid the wrath of Adam Silver in the future.
Randle is up for an extension and unlikely to take a pay cut. While it won’t kick in this season, he’d have to decline his player option for 2025-26 to sign one, making the cap hit start sooner than later. Randle is eligible to receive a four-year, $181 million extension starting August 3, according to Evan Sidery, roughly $45 million annually.
This will for sure send the Knicks into the second apron next season, and if he doesn’t improve in the playoffs — as much as I think he will — it could get incredibly difficult to move on from him, given all of the restrictions. So unless the front office wants to be in absolute hell with the second apron moving forward, it seems like the best options are to either let Randle decline his player option and walk or trade him for a cheaper option and maybe avoid the second apron for another season or two.
Is this what I want the front office to do? No. Randle is incredibly valuable as a scorer, rebounder and playmaker. He can be frustrating in the playoffs, but given the current construction of the roster they have enough to mask his struggles if this continues. Randle has practically built this Knicks culture from the ground up; losing him would hit like a truck. Unfortunately, though, basketball is a business, and if the Knicks want to continue improving they may have to at the expense of our beloved Randle.
The bright side
This has been a relatively pessimistic take on the Bridges trade, but I’m simply trying to put a more objective spin on things. Luckily, the Knicks will have at least one season under the first apron (assuming Hartenstein walks), meaning they’ll have time to see how this roster works before deciding if they want to dive head-first into the pits of CBA hell.
Bridges is a great player, one who, again, fits insanely well with this roster. He and Anunoby will form one of the best defensive duos in the NBA, and Bridges’ offense, as suspect as it was last season, will improve playing with this Knicks team. This is the most excited I’ve seen my fellow Knicks fans in years and it makes me happy to see. Gone are the days of Trey Burke, Michael Beasley and David Fizdale. We have truly been blessed by a competent front office for the first time in decades.
As for the negative aspects of this trade, who knows what will happen? Anything having to do with fit is all hypothetical, and I’d gladly be wrong about all of them in order to keep this Knicks roster as is. While financial concerns are more pressing and could force some changes, I have confidence that the Knicks can manage the cap properly. Giving Anunoby a back-loaded contract is already a good sign of that. Hopefully, they find a way to avoid entering the second apron as long as they can – regardless of whether Randle stays or goes.
