Will Mikal Bridges Sign An Extension With The New York Knicks?

Forbes

16-07-2025

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 05: Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks celebrates after making a ... More three-point basket against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter in Game One of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at TD Garden on May 05, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.(Photo by)
As the offseason starts to grind to a halt it's a good time to check in on some of the details that matter, but are a bit more under the radar. One of those things happens to be the dates that open up extension opportunities for players and teams to negotiate.
On July 6th the New York Knicks were given the green light to start those very talks with Mikal Bridges. He's able to receive up to a four-year, $156 million contract from the New York Knicks, or he can opt to enter free agency during the summer of 2026.
The level of scrutiny was at an all-time high this season concerning Bridges. He was brought in with great expectations, but didn't always live up to the hype that had accompanied his arrival. Yet, he stepped up in some of the biggest moments when the lights were brightest.
Is he long for New York, or are the Knicks looking to short the Villanova experiment?
Why It Will Get Done
This is how the New York Knicks do business.
Mitchell Robinson? Extension.
Jalen Brunson? Extension.
Josh Hart? Extension.
Deuce McBride? Extension.
The only time this concept proved wrong was with Isaiah Hartenstein. That was a unique situation that was a contract that was impossible to extend because it was only a two year deal.
Regardless, the lesson learned is that the New York Knicks like to have cost controlled assets, and don't like the uncertainty of losing players, especially for nothing. After the team just poured serious draft capital into acquiring Mikal Bridges it would be odd to not invest in the player.
Mike Brown being hired changes the tenor of negotiations, too. Tom Thibodeau and Mikal Bridges had an assumed relationship that was rocky, at best. In Portland during the month of March, Bridges complained openly to the media about his high minute totals while pointing to the bench as a competent alternative to running the starters ragged. He mentioned that he had brought these very issues to Thibodeau, which the coach denied ever having happened. When the coach was eventually fired in June it came after the owner, James Dolan, heard feedback from the players about how the season panned out. Based on how the season played out it would be fair to assume Bridges didn't hold back from criticizing Thibodeau.
This was a culmination of him failing to meet expectations, but also a coach that failed to maximize a player's strengths. Bringing Brown into the fold provides hope of what a new partnership can do for the production of Mikal Bridges who may be better optimized with a different type of usage.
Even though he had plenty of lows, Bridges provided moments that etched his name into Knicks' lore for forever. His steal against Jaylen Brown in Game 1 was a thing of beauty and doing the same to Jayson Tatum to seal Game 2 made the upset over the Boston Celtics during the Eastern Conference Semifinals a distinct possibility. It felt as though he had started to make his mark in New York while endearing himself to the fans.
Those moments demonstrate how valuable defensive wings that can sling it from deep really are. Bridges hasn't shown consistency in New York, but he has a track record that shows he is an elite defender that can shoot well from the corners and is fantastic in the midrange. At 28 years old he is still well in his prime and would almost certainly garner attention on the market if the team didn't pony up the money now to retain him.
Why It Won't Get Done
This is how the Knicks do business.
Julius Randle? Traded.
Immanuel Quickley? Traded.
Quentin Grimes? Traded.
When they can't reach a reasonable number on a contract they see it as a necessity to move that player for surplus value in fear that they'll lose them for nothing in free agency.
Bridges was an odd fit for most of the season, and if that is something the new coaching staff doesn't foresee being able to fix it may be best to move off of the money now. The team could look to trade him with another rotation piece and find a player that they deem better stylistically.
The offseason is still early and the window to actually extend Bridges is still wide open, but it's still fair to wonder what the hold up is. When Jalen Brunson extended last season it was thought that he did so in order to give the organization as much flexibility as possible to win a championship. The idea was that Brunson taking a lower number was a sign Bridges was willing to extend off of his current deal. Marc Stein even reported that it was expected that he would be willing to leave some money on the table on his next contract.
The Knicks may be less enthused about offering him that contract and Bridges may not be enticed at the prospect of a long term commitment with the franchise after this past season. Free agency looms as a legit threat for the Knicks if they aren't able to hammer out a deal before the season. Bridges is eligible to receive a contract worth well over $200 million if he opts to wait until the summer. We'll see if both sides are able to hammer out a deal before that happens.