Mikal Bridges // Credit: nba.com/knicks
Eager to itch the scratch of getting back to work after a long summer, New York Knicks swingman Mikal Bridges will be on his third different team in as many years going into October’s training camp.
“Crazy. I would've thought I was the last person to be traded all the time,” Bridges told RG in an exclusive phone interview. “It kinda started when I was in Phoenix. I thought I probably never was gonna leave Phoenix.
“Being the type of player I am, I feel like I'm kinda in a glue role usually a team would trade for or would trade to give up [a lot]. But once that starts, once you get traded once, now it's like it's gonna be continuous. But hopefully, things go great [in New York] and I don't gotta keep moving teams.”
So far, so good. Bridges has been working out at the practice facility since the day he was dealt to the Knicks.
“It's dope, man,” Bridges said. “Obviously, I wasn't there last year; I’m hearing 'em talk about last year, how everybody wants to win and get better. It's cool. I like everybody in there. Everybody's been real cool and just liking the vibe of everybody.”
As many are aware, he has a preexisting relationship with his teammates and friends from Villanova. It’s one thing to share a bond with people who went to the same school, but there’s another level of love for a group of four players who won a championship together.
That’s what Bridges, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, and Donte DiVincenzo did with the Wildcats, achieving the NCAA Men’s Tournament title in 2016. Two years later, with the exception of Hart, who was beginning his NBA career with the Lakers, they accomplished it again.
In 2024, Bridges will join the aptly nicknamed “NovaKnicks” to turn a trio into a quartet. (It could have been a quintet had Ryan Arcidiacono not been moved at last year’s trade deadline, too.)
Last week, Bridges got his first real taste of the Big Apple as a guest on a live recording of Hart and Brunson’s podcast called “Roommates Show.” It emanated from Central Park in front of a raucous crowd of Knicks fans, who gave their now-fellow New Yorker resident a warm welcome… at least when he wasn’t talking about their crosstown rival.
“Wild. I felt like I was at a concert,” Bridges said. “They were wild. It was cool just to see Jalen and Josh. You can tell how much the city loves them. I've known them dudes for so long. They deserve all of that. It's cool 'cause they're some really good dudes. Real dope.”
Fitting To The Knicks
In his 109 games with the Brooklyn Nets, there was a major uptick in Bridges’ responsibilities. In five seasons with the Phoenix Suns, his usage rate never exceeded 15%. During his time with the Nets, that figure increased by a full 11 percentage points (25.7%), per Basketball Reference.
Naturally, it led to bigger numbers, including a career-high 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game during his time in Brooklyn overall. Last season, though, Bridges saw his True Shooting percentage dip to 56.0% — his lowest mark since he was a rookie.
While he doesn’t number crunch or pay attention to stats, Bridges is aware that he wasn’t his usual efficient self — an aspect of his game that he’s dead set on rectifying.
“Just being more efficient all around the board,” Bridges said of his goal. “I think that's something I've always been my whole life, so it's kinda been weird the past year-and-a-half not being as efficient as I want to.
“Being able to do everything offensively, defensively but also maintaining that while being efficient. It's gonna be worked out. It's not easy, but it's what I'm aiming for.”
Luckily for him, the Knicks already have an established identity that he can slide right into.
“I think they complement each other, before I even got here, so well. Jalen and Julius (Randle), them two, just playing off them,” Bridges said. “I know how to play with Jalen when he has the ball; it's just from throughout the years and the chemistry we had. And I think trying to build that with Julius in the preseason and training camp. They were good last year. I think I'll just come in and I could fit.
It also helps to have Hart and OG Anunoby to share the floor with defensively. Even primarily being a small forward, Bridges did spend time at the 4 occasionally with the Nets last season. With that said, he doesn’t know whether or not that’ll be the case in New York this year.
“They're some strong dudes,” Bridges said. “I'm strong in my own way, but they're some strong dudes. We’ll see. I feel like we'll have a lot of situations where we just switch everything or switch 1-4. It wouldn't look too bad unless we're playing a big team like Cleveland and they want to have (Evan) Mobley and (Jarrett) Allen at the 4/5.”
