NBA
Knicks Forward Predicted to Make All-Star Team
The New York Knicks traded five future first-round picks for Mikal Bridges, even though he has yet to make it to an All-Star team.
An All-Star like package should bring back an All-Star, but Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley believes Bridges could emerge as one in his first season with the Knicks.
“Bridges won’t carry the same offensive burden he shouldered with the Brooklyn Nets, but his season-plus stretch as a primary option helped expand his overall arsenal. That means while he can better pick his spots in New York (which should up his efficiency), he has more items in the toolbox when he decides to attack,” Buckley writes. “Depending on what kind of future the Knicks envision with Julius Randle, they might welcome Bridges ascension as their second option on offense. If he’s pumping in around 20 points per night while also locking down the defensive end and flirting with a 50/40/90 slash (he had a 54.3/42.5/84 effort in 2020-21) for the second-best team in the East, his All-Star credentials will be too strong to ignore.”
Bridges, who turns 28 later this month, still has a long ways to go if he wants to make it to the All-Star Game. The Eastern Conference is jam-packed with dozens of players who have a shot to represent the conference in San Francisco next February, but Bridges’ chances might be better considering he’s on a contender as opposed to being the top option for one of the conference’s worst teams.
That being said, Bridges will have a challenge competing for an All-Star workload with Randle, Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby as mouths that may be fed before him. There’s also Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, who could both land some playing time in a Bridges-type of role within the offense.
Bridges can become one of the league’s best players in New York, but his goal isn’t that. He wants to win a championship, and he’ll look to do that whether he’s the first, second or fifth option on the offensive end of the court.
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