The New York Knicks just pulled off a trade that brought Mikal Bridges to the team over from the Brooklyn Nets. Another Villanova championship player was added to the roster to go along with Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. Many are labeling this as a successful trade by the Knicks. Skip Bayless on the other hand, does not believe that is the case.
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The Boston Celtics won the NBA championship a few days ago and are the team to beat this upcoming season. Skip Bayless believes bringing in Mikal Bridges does not make the Knicks a threat to the reigning NBA champions.
“I’m a two, you guessed it. I wrote down a two because as much as I enjoyed watching the Knicks, rooting for the Knicks, they got great grit and fire, spunk and hustle and loose ball urgency, and all that good stuff. All those intangibles, I just don’t love the tangibles enough. I don’t love the supreme talent enough.”
.@RealSkipBayless rates the Knicks a ‘2’ as a threat to the Celtics: pic.twitter.com/JqXkO9c5Em
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) June 26, 2024
Skip Bayless referred to OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges as two long athletic defensive-minded wings. He even went so far as to draw a comparison between the two Knicks players to the All-Star duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Bayless also took adding Paul George to the Knicks roster as an option. Although Skip did mention how PG has been in the league for 14 years and is now near his twilight years, according to the veteran sports analyst, George is more of a 1-B star than a 1-A star.
He further dove into the playoff performances of other Knicks players like Jalen Brunson and Isiah Hartenstien. Bayless believes the Knicks don’t have what it takes to keep Hartenstien, who had a great postseason as a backup big, which in turn, will hurt the Knicks’ chances of defeating the Boston Celtics.
Stephen A. Smith’s take on the Mikal Bridges trade
Skip Bayless came out and labeled the New York Knicks as a level 2 threat at best to the Boston Celtics after the Mikal Bridges trade. While Bayless may believe so, Stephen A. Smith, on the other hand, stands on the opposite side.
“The only team I definitively see above them is the reigning, defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.”
.@stephenasmith has the Knicks at the top of the East with Mikal Bridges 👀
"The only team I definitively see above them is the reigning, defending NBA champion Boston Celtics." pic.twitter.com/G47ofH8ODe
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 26, 2024
As a self-proclaimed Knicks superfan, Stephen A. Smith was understandably hyped after the Mikal Bridges acquisition. The only team he claims is better is the reigning champion Celtics, but he believes that his Knicks have what it takes to dethrone the 18x Champs.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Knicks perform with Bridges on the roster and the matchup between New York and Boston is sure to garner plenty of attention in the upcoming season.
