Mikal Bridges likely to take team-friendly deal with Knicks, per report, but what would that look like?

Bridges has several viable extension possibilities

Jalen Brunson took a discount when he re-signed with the Knicks on a four-year, $156 million contract extension last week, and now, he seems to have set a precedent in New York. One of his fellow Villanova stars, Mikal Bridges, will become eligible for an extension soon, and sure enough, according to Marc Stein, he is also expected to leave some money on the table. Given the sheer volume of talent playing at Madison Square Garden right now, these savings will do a lot of good for a Knicks team that figures to compete for championships moving forward. 2024-25 $23.3 million 2025-26 $24.9 million 2026-27* $29.88 million 2027-28 $31.37 million Total $109.45 million 2025-26 $24.9 million 2026-27* $34.86 million 2027-28 $37.65 million 2028-29 $40.44 million 2029-30 $43.23 million Total $181.08 million 2026-27 $51.03 million 2027-28 $55.12 million 2028-29 $59.2 million 2029-30 $63.28 million 2030-31 $67.61 million Total $295.99 million

Of course, it's worth pointing out here that Bridges, like Brunson, is underpaid on his current deal. In 2021, he signed a four-year, $90 million rookie extension with the Phoenix Suns that looked outdated the moment he agreed to it. Bridges would likely command a max salary on the open market right now, so even if he is willing to leave money on the table here, he probably isn't going to be especially eager to sell himself too short, either. There must be a middle ground here that both helps the Knicks and pays him appropriately.

The curveball here is that, unlike Brunson, Bridges is not even eligible to sign yet. There are three key dates to watch in the Bridges negotiations. On each of those dates, a different sort of contract becomes available to him. So let's go through all three, lay out his options and attempt to figure out what sort of deal he ultimately takes.