If you list the biggest Knicks gambles of the Mikal Bridges trade, you won’t get past 1 or 2 without the double-down on Jalen Brunson.
For much of the last year — perhaps even two years — the debate raged over whether Brunson is a carry-the-torch superstar. Many chimed in. Most answered ‘no.’ Some said he’s too small, too unathletic. Brunson converted a few non-believers after putting up Michael Jordan numbers in the playoffs.
But it was hard to ascertain where the organization stood as it searched for a trade target worthy of all those draft picks. The trade Tuesday night shouted the answer.
Bridges, unlike some of the other players linked to the Knicks recently (ahem, Donovan Mitchell, Joel Embiid), is a supplementary piece to Brunson, not an overrider. He masks Brunson’s defensive weaknesses on the perimeter, but won’t remove the ball from his hands. Brunson was the closer before the trade, and he’s the closer after the Knicks sent a boatload of picks to the Nets.
This was Leon Rose’s big trade. Sure, there will be more additions before the season starts and, perhaps down the road, enough value on the roster to complete another blockbuster. But Tuesday was Rose emptying his asset chest. He relinquished control of five of his own first-round picks in the next seven years. That’s a one-time maneuver. You can forget the Giannis Antetokounmpo or Devin Booker dreams.
And where does that leave the Knicks? Brunson, the fifth-place finisher in the 2024 MVP voting, as the No. 1 option. Julius Randle, assuming his health following shoulder surgery, as No. 2. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, two top-shelf wing defenders, as Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
To be clear, Bridges is more than just a role player. He’s an elite role player. In Phoenix, he was a championship-contending role player. He can create for himself enough to have his number called in a half-court set, but Bridges isn’t going to get priority over Brunson.
So as the Knicks pushed their chips into the middle, the big gamble is that Brunson will at least match, and hopefully exceed, last season’s greatness. The Knicks are toast if anything about the last 1 ½ years was a fluke.
Brunson already convinced a famous doubter, TNT analyst Kenny Smith, who went from pooh-poohing the point guard’s star power before last season to acknowledging his errors this week.
“Jalen propelled himself to heights that we’ve never thought he could be. … Can we have foreseen that? I don’t think so,” Smith told The Post. “I never thought Jalen Brunson would’ve been a 40-point guy. He could get 40 now in his sleep.”
The Knicks, as this trade reinforced, have faith in Brunson. He’s the centerpiece and can enjoy the perks. For instance, Brunson was the first Villanova player on the roster. Now there are four Wildcat buddies. Depending on what happens to Ryan Arcidicacono, it could go up to five NovaKnicks.
Crazy.
The point guard has been placed in a position he should feel comfortable, a position to succeed. By adding Bridges, the Knicks continued to build around Brunson, not over him.
But that arrives with something else — pressure. The Knicks can no longer be cast in the feel-good underdog movie, and neither can Brunson. The team put its faith and its draft picks into the idea that the point guard is a 1A star.
Now Brunson has to beat the Celtics.
