Mikal Bridges was officially introduced Tuesday as a member of the Knicks and dished on the “surreal” trade that brought him to Manhattan from Brooklyn and what it’s like to be reunited with his former Villanova teammates.
“It’s surreal. But it’s dope to be a Knick. .. I thought I was gonna be [drafted] here in 2018, and I love everything about the team, Thibs [coach Tom Thibodeau] and the crowd [and] MSG” Bridges told reporters Tuesday.
The Knicks believe Bridges will be a critical piece as they chase the NBA champion Boston Celtics and the new-look 76ers in the Eastern Conference.
New York sent Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite, four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and a pick swap to the Nets in exchange for Bridges and Keita Bates-Diop. In doing so, they created enough cap flexibility to add a replacement for center Isaiah Hartenstein, who left for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“When you think basketball when I was young, there’s always the Knicks,” Bridges said.
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Bridges joins former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo with the Knicks and says the former NCAA champions all know how to win.
“We all embody how to win games, there’s a lot of sacrificing to win,” he said.
Still, Bridges said he wasn’t necessarily rooting for his former Villanova running buddies during the playoffs when they lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round.
“Happy for those guys, but I wasn’t rooting for them,” he said. “As you can see on the [Roommates] podcast, I don’t need them to always have an edge on me. They play too much.”
Bridges also made a point to say he was excited to play with OG Anunoby, and said he would tease him about his new five-year, $212.5 million contract.
“That’s my guy, we’ve built a relationship over the years,” Bridges said of Anunoby.
Despite a report to the contrary, Nets GM Sean Marks said this week that Bridges did not demand to be traded, and a Nets source confirmed that to NJ Advance Media.
“It’s been reported that Mikal wanted to leave or requested a trade. That could not be further from the truth,” Marks told reporters. “That’s just not in Mikal’s character. That’s not who he is, and that definitely did not happen. He was told by me when I called him and let him know that we’re at the 2-yard line.”
Bridges has played in 474 consecutive games and two years ago actually played 83 games in a single regular season with Phoenix and Brooklyn.
He comes to a team where the head coach has a reputation for playing his guys tons of minutes and sometimes wearing them down, but Bridges is up for the challenge.
“I know, I see all the jokes,” he said. “I see it all. It’s great, Thibs is a great coach. Who doesn’t want to play all the time? And who he is...and how structured he is, that’s where I came from, high school and college...I fit for that.”
The Knicks hope he’s the perfect fit to challenge for the team’s first title in more than 50 years.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.