Mikal Bridges, Knicks Agree to 4-Year, $150M Contract Extension After NBA Trade Rumors

The New York Knicks and wing Mikal Bridges have agreed to a four-year, $150 million contract extension, agents Sam Goldfeder and Jordan Gertler told ESPN's Shams Charania.

The deal includes a player option for 2029-30 and features a trade kicker.

According to The Athletic's Fred Katz and James L. Edwards III, some NBA executives thought Bridges "might play next season on an expiring contract and attempt to get closer to $200 million on the open market next summer."

This contract comes after Frank Isola of SiriusXM NBA Radio reported in June that Bridges "has surfaced in trade discussions." 

The Knicks acquired Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets on June 25, 2024, sending a treasure trove of draft picks the other way.

With that, Bridges joined his former Villanova teammates in Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, although DiVincenzo was dealt three months later along with Julius Randle to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns.

At the time, Bridges had two seasons and $48.2 million remaining left on a four-year, $90,900,000 contract signed with the Phoenix Suns in Oct. 2021. The Suns later traded Bridges to the Nets in the Kevin Durant deal in Feb. 2023.

The Knicks wouldn't have added the 28-year-old Bridges for a massive haul of picks without a long-term plan in place for him. And now that's come to fruition as three-quarters of the previously named "Nova Knicks" plus Towns form the core of this team for the foreseeable future.

As the Nets' top option in 2023-24, Bridges averaged 19.6 points on 43.6 percent shooting (37.2 percent from three), 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

At his best, he's a fantastic and lengthy defensive wing who fits very well on this gritty Knicks team. In 2024-25, he averaged 17.6 points on 50.0 percent shooting, 3.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game en route to helping lead New York to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, the franchise's first since 2000.

Bridges is also the NBA's iron man, having never missed a game throughout his entire seven-year career. He's notably averaged 35.8 minutes per game over his last three seasons (37.0 MPG in 2024-25), making that accomplishment all the more impressive.

However, at times, Bridges didn't have a great presence on the court and was inconsistent, even by his own admission.

“I got to play better. I’ve been inconsistent,” Bridges said last November (h/t Stefan Bondy of the New York Post). “I’ve had some games where I’ve played good, some I haven’t. Just got to find a rhythm within the team. That’s pretty much it. Not even 20 games in, still just trying to figure it out. … I had a lot of sloppy turnovers. Couple of times (where the opponent) scored on me getting into the middle. I’ll be better.”

He was an invaluable piece in the Knicks' playoff series wins over the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, making clutch buckets and huge defensive plays. But he didn't have the best series in a six-game loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Bondy notably called it an "overall underwhelming" series for Bridges.

In the end, though, Bridges was a key piece on arguably the best Knicks team since the 1990s, and he helped New York enjoy a great postseason run.

And now Bridges is a Knick long-term, adding to a team that looks like a legitimate championship contender for the first time in decades.