Five first round picks! Looking at the Bridges trade again, is it still worth it?

Everyone knows that the Knicks are out.

After the East was eliminated from the Pacers, a familiar question was once again raised by the American media: Is Mikal Bridges the worst five first-round deals in history?

The details of this deal should be remembered by many people:

- the Nets sent Bridges, 1 second round

- the Knicks sent Boyan, 4 unprotected first rounds, 1 protected first round (from the Bucks), 1 first round swap and 1 second round

The data of Bridges's traded year was: 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.9 steals per game, 43.6% shooting percentage, 37.2% from three-point shooting percentage, and 56.0% real shooting percentage.

Although he briefly showed his superstar potential in 27 games he just joined the Nets (26.1 points per game), judging from the full season of 2023-24, Bridges is not a player suitable for the core of reconstruction. He can't even be an All-Star and 20+ per game.

As a result, fans have been asking the Knicks all season: Why did they spend 5 first rounds to change a part-alone? Is it just to complete the reunion of the Villanova brothers?

Now, this deal has been completed in the past year, and the Knicks' season has also been played. Let's look at Bridges, is his performance worth 5 first-round picks?

Look at the regular season first. Bridges played 82 games in full, averaged 37 minutes per game, scoring 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting percentage in three events was 50.0%/35.4%/81.4%, and real shooting percentage was 58.5%.

Around Brunson and Towns, Bridges doesn't have to undertake too many offensive tasks. His ball-use rate has dropped sharply from 23.8% the previous year to 19.2%, and his shooting efficiency and real shooting percentage have both improved. On the defensive end, Bridges and OG are the two Knicks' leader and outside defense cores, but their defensive focus and types of expertise are different.

OG is more suitable for defensive forward line with strength and tonnage. Bridges is more suitable for defensive backs with fast movement and long wingspan. Judging from the regular season, his presence has caused Trae Young, Cunningham, Halliburton, Raven, Murray, Maxi, Sages and others to suffer a lot. In the playoffs, Bridges still played 18 games in full, with averaging playing time to 39.2 minutes, handing over 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals, shooting percentage of 45.6%/33.3%/75.0% in three events, and a real shooting percentage of 51.8%.

Obviously, in the playoffs with greater defensive intensity, Bridges' offensive performance declined and made many mistakes, averaging 2.1 times per game. However, in some key games, Bridges can still stand up to help the team.

For example, in the first round of G6's advancement match against the Pistons, Bridges made 11 of 16 shots in the game, efficiently scoring 25 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. In this game, the Knicks narrowly defeated their opponents with only 3 points to advance.

For example, in the second round of G4 against the Celtics, Bridges only had less than 4 minutes of rest in the game, handed in 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, including 5 of 6 shots in the last quarter and 10 points, helping the Knicks complete the reversal and win the match point.

For example, in the second round of G6 against the Celtics, it was also a promotional battle. Bridges once again performed well, playing less than 30 minutes in the game, shooting 9 of 15 shots, 4 of 7 three-pointers, scoring 22 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a big victory. Although he lost to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, Bridges scored in double digits in six games, averaged 15.8 points per game, shot 46.6% from the field and 35.0% from three-point shooting percentage. He didn't have many highlights, but it was not particularly a pitfall. As the team's third and fourth scoring points, he can only be said to be qualified.

The focus is on defense. Throughout the playoffs, Bridges averaged 12.6 shots per game, with his opponent's shooting percentage dropping by 4.9%, three-pointers dropping by 5.2%, and 10 feet in the inside 8.4%, which is quite good.

Specifically for the counterpart, Bridges has the four players with the most defense in three rounds:

- Halliburton, 217 rounds, 12 of 30 shots, 31 points, 20 assists and 5 turnovers

- White, 152 rounds, 8 of 15 shots, 21 points, 4 assists and 2 turnovers

- Toha, 116 rounds, 3 of 9 shots, 6 points, 0 assists and 2 turnovers

- Cunningham, 85 rounds, 11 of 29 shots, 22 points, 6 assists and 8 turnovers

At least from the data, Bridges made Cunningham play very uncomfortable in the first round. The Eastern Conference Finals can only be said to be average, which reduced Harry's shooting percentage, but it did not limit Harry to connect the team well.

and, Bridges also left two super highlights: in the last moments of the second round against the Celtics, Bridges intercepted Brown and Tatum respectively, and G2 scored 14 points in the last quarter to lead the reversal, which was an indelible contribution.

Comprehensive regular season and playoffs, Bridges can be said to have done what a 3D player and the head of the third and fourth players should do, but do you have to talk about five first-round picks? Personally, I think it is not particularly worth it from the perspective of ability.

However, there are two points that cannot be ignored:

First, Bridges' Iron Man attributes, not only attend all, but also have the first place in the league in total playing time of 3036 minutes in the regular season and 706 minutes in the playoffs. If it were the other five who could be transferred in the first round, they might not be able to withstand the Thibodeau doing this.

The second is Bridges' contract cost-effectiveness, with an annual salary of 23.3 million this season and 24.9 million next season. In addition to Brunson, Bridges is the most cost-effective one..

If you combine the alumni attributes of Bridges, Brunson and Hart, the five first rounds may not be unacceptable. It is not worth it, but you can't lose much. If you change someone to Thibodeau's subordinates and partner with Brunson Towns, it may not be as good as Bridges.

Of course, the transaction must not be only one year, but only this year. It is no longer a loss to be able to return to the Eastern Conference Finals after 25 years. In fact, this Knicks, both Towns and Bridges, are only in their first year. Next season, there is reason to believe that they can get better and next year, they will make it to the Finals.