The New York Knicks caused a shockwave in the basketball world when they acquired Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade for four unprotected first-round picks, a protected one, an unprotected pick swap, a second-round pick, and Bojan Bogdanovich.
While most perceived that the Knicks got infinitely better, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green pumped the brakes on the trade and looked at the long-term impact.
On his self-titled show “The Draymond Green show,” the four-time NBA champion started by saying that because New York is at the point where they are in a win-now mode, he understands the decision. However, Green emphasized that if the experiment fails, then the Knicks “will be rebuilding again.”
“The Knicks are in a space where they're going for it, and I respect it, I think you got to go for it at some point,” Green said.
“But what just happened with the trade was that you know if this doesn't work in two to three years, the Knicks will be rebuilding again because they traded all their picks away, and then they'll be trying to trade those guys, get picks back, and that's kind of how it all plays out.”
Green says Knicks with Bridges are not ‘good enough to beat Boston'
The trade was exciting for not just Knicks fans but also of the Villanova basketball program as Bridges is reunited with his former teammates in Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo as all of them won the national championship in 2016.
However, Green doubled down on his resentment with the move saying that he does not believe “that group is good enough to beat” the Boston Celtics who just won their 18th championship in franchise history amidst a historic season.
“I'm sorry to the Knicks fans, but that's how I actually think it's going to play out, and I don't think it's any indictment to Mikal, who I think is like a top-tier player in the NBA like you know you got tiers but damn good player,” Green said.
“Jalen Brunson whose All-NBA, Julius who has been All-NBA, Dante, nothing but love for Dante, OG who's a champion, it's actually no indictment on any of those guys. Like I just don't think that group is good enough to beat Boston.”
Former Warriors player disagrees with Green about Knicks
If there is somebody that disagrees with Green, it is his former teammate in Andre Iguodala who said that the Knicks adding Bridges is the “perfect balance” to Brunson.
“I think Mikal is perfect alongside Jalen Brunson…they both complement each other very, very well and I know I spoke on this, I thought Mikal Bridges was the best talent in the city of New York,” Iguodala said.
“Now obviously, Jalen has proved me wrong because just his IQ is on another level and in the way he's been able to play. It's been amazing, but everyone's been asking, how far can the Knicks go with the team they have– I think Mikal was going to add that perfect balance to Jalen.”
Last season, Bridges was arguably the Nets' best player as he averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field. It remains to be seen how he will fit besides the aforementioned former teammates at Villanova. The Knicks still consist of the recently re-signed OG Anunoby and Julius Randle.
Green has angered Knicks fans in the past
However, there are some fans that are listening to Green's words and possibly not taking it seriously as this isn't the first time that he has talked negatively on the Knicks. During the team's last playoff run which saw them making the Eastern Conference semifinals before being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers, Green said that the team is a “fluke” during an appearance on TNT.
“In the Eastern Conference, you can get to the conference finals, a la the Atlanta Hawks, by playing like very ‘mid’ teams, so that’s what you all are doing right now,” Green said on his podcast. “And I think what this is setting y’all up for is what happened to the Atlanta Hawks three years ago when they made the conference finals, and they never got back.”
“Why do Knicks fans think I hate the Knicks though? I told the truth about the team. And the truth about the team is, it's a fluke,” Green said. “I said this team, they are winning right now.
“I think it's a set up like the Atlanta Hawks in 2021 and if you remember back to maybe 2016-17, the Portland Trail Blazers paid all of those guys because they had that one good year and then they got jammed up and I think this New York Knicks team is a setup to get jammed up.”
At any rate, New York is feeling good about their chances within the Eastern Conference next season in competing with the defending champions. They are looking to improve even after an impressive season where they had a 50-32 record which put them at the second seed.
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