Over 13 months after acquiring Mikal Bridges in a monumental trade with the Nets, the forward signed a four-year, $150 million extension with the New York Knicks. Some people wondered if the Knicks would let Bridges play the 2025-26 season on the final year of his contract, allowing him to enter unrestricted free agency next summer, but New York didn't want that.
Bridges would've been eligible for a five-year deal next summer and more money, but he opted to get a deal done this offseason, rather than wait to see what would happen next year.
It's not like anyone thought the Knicks would let Bridges slip through their fingers after they sent the Nets five first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and a second-round pick.