Knicks Blockbuster Trade Turns Up Pressure On Cavaliers Offseason Plans

There may still be remnants of the Celtics championship parade scattered through the streets of Boston, but the arms race is already underway for the rest of the NBA.

On Tuesday night the New York Knicks swung a blockbuster deal to acquire forward Mikal Bridges in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and an assortment of first-round picks, a pick swap and a second-round pick. It's the first big move of an always unpredictable NBA offseason and one that signals the Knicks aren't resting on their laurels.

In the copycat league that is the NBA, the Celtics are now the blueprint – the vision 29 other teams are thriving to be. With the addition of Bridges the Knicks officially took the first big swing to try and catch the newly minted champions. They're now armed with a starting lineup that will feature a quartet of former Villanova teammates – and champions – featuring Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVencenzo, plus Bridges. It's a lineup in the modern NBA that will allow New York to match Boston's incredible arsenal of wing scorers with some respectable spacing of its own.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers are standing by at the moment. Having just finalized their decision to hire Kenny Atkinson as the team's next head coach, the next big domino to come at 1 Center Court is a max extension for star guard Donovan Mitchell. So long as that happens – it is expected according to the reporting out there – president of basketball operations Koby Altman will then have a mountain of questions to sort through regarding the Cavs current roster.

It's no secret at this point that a pair of redundancies exist between Mitchell and young guard Darius Garland, as well as Jarrett Allen and future franchise cornerstone Evan Mobley. Messaging from Altman and the team to this point would lead one to believe that they have no plans to break up that group of players so affectionately known as "the core four."

We live in a different world though now. The Knicks just upped the ante. By execute a trade for Bridges, they're signalling to the rest of the Eastern Conference that they're all-in.

It would be patently foolish for the Cavs to assume that the head coach was the extent of their shortcoming, and that running it back with the exactly same roster will produce better results in 2024-25. In the real world patience may be virtue. But in the NBA, being too patient leaves the rest of the league passing you by.

The Knicks – a team that was already considered a mismatch for Cleveland following that gentleman's sweep in the first round of the playoffs in 2023 – just separated themselves even further from the Cavs. That's on top of the Celtics returning much of their championship winning roster next season. The Bucks expecting a more fruitful season with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard back healthy. The Pacers hoping to build upon an Eastern Conference Finals run.

Championship windows are fleeting. The Cavaliers can't waste the one they're currently operating in, spinning their wheels with a roster that has clear and obvious flaws. Altman and his staff can't stand by idly resting on the hopes and prayers of a third season with this current core, while the rest of the conference beefs up its rosters.

Amidst the fanfare of their 18th title, a lot of people pointed to the Celtics patience with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as the blueprint of the team's success. What they ignored though is all the tweaks made along the way. Marcus Smart was considered the heart and soul of that franchise for a multitude of years before Boston packaged him in a three team deal to acquire Kristaps Porzingis last offseason.

Looking back, players like Smart, like Gordon Hayward, like Kemba Walker, even Kyrie Irving walked, so that Tatum, Brown and the rest of this loaded Celtics team could run.

Cleveland has barely scratched the surface of finding the best collection of players to put around Mitchell and Mobley. This trade from the Knicks should be a wake-up call to try something new.