The first-rounders Knicks gave up in Mikal Bridges trade aren’t merely ‘12th-graders’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s understandable because the correction requires over a decade of context and fan angst, but Josh Hart was partly wrong in his defenses of the Mikal Bridges trade.

First, he was utterly right that ”nobody would give a damn” about the cost if the Knicks win a championship. Wiping away a 52-year drought grants sweeping immunity — even for ownership — and we appreciate Hart’s ambition even if a title feels today like pipe-dreaming with the Celtics still roaming the Eastern Conference.

But what Hart got wrong was dismissing the draft picks sent to the Nets as just “five 12th-graders.” For a very long time, those were much more than theoretical rookies in high school. Just ask any Knick fan old enough to remember Kurt Rambis’ Twitter likes (note: Rambis said he was hacked).

Those picks were hope for Donovan Mitchell, Joel Embiid, Dame Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zion Williamson, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis. They were either the best reasons to believe the Knicks can get over the top for real title contention under Leon Rose, or the best reasons to believe the franchise could recover in the dark days of the late 2010s.