Chris Russo wasn’t just going to let Stephen A. Smith enjoy the blockbuster move made by the Knicks on Tuesday night.
Appearing Wednesday morning on ESPN’s “First Take” with Smith and NBA insider Brian Windhorst, Russo diminished the Knicks’ stunning trade for Mikal Bridges, stating how the Nets forward “is not the missing piece” to capturing a championship.
“You want me to go put cold water on this thing, Brian?” Russo playfully questioned before his diatribe.
“Oh my God, take it easy,” he continued. “This is not Howard Komives for Dave DeBusschere. … I mean, he is not the missing piece to win a championship. Does he make the Knicks marginally better? Absolutely.”
Russo later called Bridges a “nice” player but implied he wasn’t a “linchpin” in Brooklyn.
“Before you sit there and tell me that he’s going to score 24 a game and get them real close to Boston, put them ahead of Indiana…” Russo added before being interrupted by both Smith and host Molly Qerim.
During Russo’s monologue, Smith was shown covering his face and shaking his head.
To Russo’s point, the 27-year-old Bridges has never been an All-Star, nor averaged above 20.1 points per game in a season.
After trading for Bridges in February 2023, the retooled Nets went 12-15 to close the 2022-23 season before getting swept by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite Bridges starting all 82 games, Brooklyn finished with a dismal 32-50 record the following year, leading to the firing of head coach Jacque Vaughn.
On the other side of the city, the Knicks enjoyed a marvelous 2023-24, notching the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed and reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals for a second straight year.
Bridges will pair up with former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, plus potentially impact players like Julius Randle and OG Anunoby — barring eventual trade and free agency decisions.
