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Mikal Bridges is eligible to negotiate up to a four-year, $156.1 million extension with the New York Knicks, but the Eastern Conference contender is also targeting a future Hall of Famer.
Knicks Hesitant To Extend Mikal Bridges
Per SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks are monitoring the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade situation in Milwaukee. If New York were to extend Bridges, it wouldn’t be able to trade him for six months.
This means the Knicks could be holding off on an extension until after they know Antetokounmpo’s stance on a potential trade. The 28-year-old Bridges is set to enter the final year of his four-year, $90.9 million contract.
“The Knicks and all the other teams are kind of keeping an eye on Milwaukee and what may or may not happen there,” Begley said.
“I think one of the reasons why [Bridges] has not been extended yet is because once you extend him, you cannot trade him for six months and I think until the Giannis stuff is fully settled, and I don’t think it’s fully settled yet… When he does extend, I think that tells you Giannis is put to bed, is off the table in a sense.”
Bridges has played every game of his seven-year career. The only two years he did not reach 82 games were the COVID-shortened seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
He averaged a career-high 37 minutes per game this past season, and he shot 50% from the field for the first time since his last season in Phoenix.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Will Probably Stay With Bucks
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported in May that Antetokounmpo had “not made any firm decisions on his Bucks future” but “is open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.”
Antetokounmpo, however, said recently that he’ll “probably” stay with the Bucks and that he “loves Milwaukee.” Team president Peter Feigin also said that the two sides are “in a good place.”
“We kind of laugh internally, it’s where we’ve been for 10 years,” Feigin said on NBA TV earlier this week. “Giannis loves Milwaukee, Milwaukee loves Giannis. We’re in a good place. We feel great about it. It’s business as usual… We’re looking forward to next season.”
Appearing on last Thursday’s episode of Get Up, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that there are at least five or six teams “banking on” Antetokounmpo’s recent “we’ll see” comment about the Bucks.
“The thing about it is, is he didn’t give a definitive answer. And I’m certainly not going to analyze something he said seaside in Greece but what I will say is the ‘we’ll see,’ that is essentially what there’s about five or six NBA teams banking on, the ‘we’ll see.’ And I know it sounds trivial but for years Giannis was completely locked in,” Windhorst said.
Lakers, Warriors, Heat Linked To Greek Freak
Antetokounmpo, who turns 31 in December, has been linked to several other marquee franchises, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Miami Heat.
The two-time MVP “is closely observing” Milwaukee’s offseason moves to determine if the Bucks will be able to field a title-contending roster, per Charania.
If Giannis does decide to ask for a trade, it likely won’t come until later this summer.
While Antetokounmpo remains under contract through 2027-28, he can become a free agent in the 2027 offseason if he declines his $62.8 million player option.
In 67 games (all starts) with the Bucks last season, Giannis averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 34.2 minutes per contest while shooting 60.1% from the field.
