00:00Hello, this is Stefan Bondi with the New York Post, and Mikael Bridges has just agreed to sign a four-year extension worth $150 million with a player option.
00:12This news was somewhat expected. He became eligible for this extension after the season, and if he did not sign one, he would then become a free agent next summer.
00:23The Knicks, who traded five first-round picks to acquire him, didn't want to let him go, so they gave him the deal that's with an annual average salary of about $37.5 million.
00:34It lands about $6 million total under the max, which is being trumpeted as a kind of discount or gesture by Bridges to help the Knicks maintain flexibility moving forward and navigate the restrictive apron systems.
00:51Now listen, this isn't the same kind of discount that Jalen Brunson took a year ago. Obviously, we knew if Jalen ever hit free agency, he would sign for a much greater number.
01:01Mikael Bridges could have hit free agency next year, but we don't know what he could have commanded.
01:07He still has something to prove after a rocky first season with the Knicks.
01:11Certainly, he had his big moments against the Spurs on Christmas and against the Blazers in the regular season, but he also at times struggled with an adjustment from being the number one in Brooklyn to the number four offensive option at times with the Knicks.
01:27But he really shined in the playoffs in those opening two rounds against Boston and Detroit, and I think that solidified his importance to the Knicks, and it also helps that he is the most durable player in the NBA by a long shot, 556 consecutive games.
01:45That makes it easier to commit to him, and the Knicks did today.
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