Knicks, Bridges agree to 4-year, $150M extension
The New York Knicks are signing forward Mikal Bridges to a four-year extension worth $150 million, his agents told ESPN's Shams Charania.
The new deal, which includes a trade kicker, prevents Bridges from becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. However, it will allow him to test free agency as soon as 2029, when he'll decide on a player option for the extension's final season.
Bridges, 28, averaged 17.6 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds in his first year in New York while starting every game for a fifth straight season. At 37 minutes per contest, he was second on the Knicks only to fellow Villanova alum Josh Hart (37.6) for the most average minutes. He led the entire NBA in total game time last season, however, playing 3,036 minutes to Hart's second-ranked 2,897.
The maximum extension Bridges could have signed would have been worth $156 million, according to SNY's Ian Begley, who notes that the minor discount gives New York some financial flexibility to flesh out the rest of its roster. The former 10th overall pick also could have negotiated for a fifth year from the Knicks - and likely more guaranteed money - if he let his contract expire and re-signed with the franchise next summer, per Begley.
The Knicks surrendered significant draft capital to acquire Bridges from their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, in July 2024. In addition to trading Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, and Mamadi Diakite, the Knicks parted with five first-round picks, the right to swap another first-rounder, and a future second-round selection to pry Bridges away.
Though his scoring dipped slightly from the 21.2 points per game he scored with the Nets, Bridges became one of the Knicks' most impactful members of now-dismissed head coach Tom Thibodeau's rotation. New York posted its only negative net rating (minus-0.5) throughout the regular season during Bridges' off-court minutes. Meanwhile, the Knicks outscored opponents by 5.6 points per 100 possessions with Bridges on the court, the fifth-best mark on the team.
The Knicks now have four members of their starting core locked down through at least 2027-28: Bridges, Hart, Jalen Brunson, and OG Anunoby. Brunson and Anunoby each have player options for 2028-29, while New York controls a $22.4-million team option for Hart in 2027-28. Five-time All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns is guaranteed under contract through 2026-27, though his deal features a $61-million player option for 2027-28 - his age-32 season.