A few months ago, Jalen Brunson laid down a marker by being unselfish. The New York Knicks captain took an unprecedented $100 million discount to make sure this roster stays together. Now his sacrifice has another beneficiary–the latest being Mikail Bridges. On one hand, the Boston Celtics had to turn their roster upside down in order to avoid second-apron punishment. But their Eastern rivals are surprising everybody as they continue to keep their pieces intact.

Earlier today, Shams Charania reported, ” BREAKING: New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges has agreed to a four-year, $150 million contract extension with the franchise, agents Sam Goldfeder and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports Management tell ESPN. The new deal includes a player option for 2029-30 and a trade kicker.” During the playoffs, especially against the Celtics, the 28-year-old came alive with his offensive game and crucial defensive stops. Following Brunson’s footsteps, even Bridges took a pay cut.

Charania followed his tweet with an update and provided $6 million as the sacrifice number. Now it’s not as huge as what Captain Brunson took with his $100 million, but it is in line with what the front office expected. “Bridges takes a slight discount from his max extension number ($156M) in order to help the Knicks have flexibility to continue building the roster and add pieces to the East championship contender.” That’s why his sacrifice gives the Knicks more financial flexibility due to the second apron.

With this, they can still target their final roster spot as they continue to monitor the development around a potent 3x All-Star. “Ben Simmons is certainly a candidate for the Knicks’ final roster spot. As of earlier this week, New York continued to show strong interest in signing Simmons as teams in on Simmons await his decision.” Although he is yet to hit his expectations, the addition could be a nice fit among the other roster spots, as the team will add the veteran to lead their second starters.

So, on paper, Bridges made the right sacrifice and earned his contract. That’s why his Nova-Knicks teammate, Josh Hart, shared his excitement about the news. He wrote on X: “BAG MAN BAG MAN!” However, not everyone shares this sentiment, as some fans had expected more.

$6 million is not enough, as Mikal Bridges comes under hot water

If LeBron James not taking a pay cut can cause trolling, then surely Bridges isn’t immune with his gesture. Even though in another report, the 6-foot-6 star’s intention to continue became abundantly clear, “He wants to be here and wants to win here,” but that’s not stopping the fans. As one commented, “38m a year for a role player My league is ruined. ” But let’s not forget the hoops Knicks crossed to land their wing.

New York traded five first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, a second-round pick, and Bojan Bogdanovic, at the time too it still felt overkill. But with an ECF run and a roster intact, it seemed like the right fit. But after that trade, this contract extension once again put the spotlight on Mikal Bridges being  “Overpaid. Holy,” as another fan commented. But there is more to his sacrifice.

Had Bridges waited until next summer and become an unrestricted free agent, he could have signed with the Knicks for up to four years and $229 million or five years and $296 million. So, if had had waited another summer, his contract would have been upwards of $55 million; now it stands at $37 million per year. But the fans want more contributions, if any player is making that kind of money. Which is why one netizen added, “150 million just to be mid, damn I wish I was 6’7.” During his time in the Big Apple, Mikal Bridges has yet to hit his peak scoring.

For cross-town rivals, Brooklyn, he once averaged 26.1 after the mid-season trade from the Suns. Apart from that, in his career, the 28-year-old is yet to hit the 20 points per game mark. So, overpay comments are not wrong. “150m for a guy who can’t stay on the court lmfao. Good luck New York yall need it.” But with the team that has Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and OG Anunoby, who could shoot consistently, one needs to accept the drop in numbers from Bridges.

However, with a new coach in Mike Brown being in charge, the minutes and contribution from Bridges change. It could also change his future. As one fan commented, “They going trade him in 7 months.” The NBA business is brutal, so it won’t be surprising if this happens. But for now, the roster remains the same, as the charge for the title continues.