Knicks’ Mikal Bridges blockbuster still too early to ‘judge’

Josh Hart was traded for a first round pick.

Mikal Bridges, the spotlighted player Friday for the rivalry game between the cities, cost the Knicks five.

And while it hasn’t been an encouraging start for Bridges in Manhattan, his teammate brought a measured perspective to a debate about the blockbuster.

“I just think he’s five times better than me,” Hart joked. “But nah, the thing about these trades — especially trades like this — you can’t judge them now. You’ve got five first-round picks, nobody has any idea what the first-rounders are going to be, how they’re going to look out who is available, so I don’t think there is any pressure.”

Hart is absolutely right to delay any evaluation.

But that won’t stop early concerns about Bridges’ struggles in the first few weeks of this campaign, a story that grew in importance Friday with Karl-Anthony Towns (severe knee) and Miles McBride (illness) both out.

The Knicks needed something bigger and better from their starting backcourt of Bridges and Jalen Brunson.

“I think he’s done a solid job. I think (Bridges) can be better. I think we can all be better,” Hart said. “I think we’ve had some frustration at times trying to figure things out. But we know it’s going to take time. None of us thought it was going to be an easy, seamless transition and go round by round with Cleveland to be undefeated. Nah. We knew it would take time.”

When the trade was first revealed in June, the initial reaction was widely, but certainly not unanimously, “How could the Nets do this? How could they give up their best player to the rival? How could they help the Knicks win a championship?”

Roughly five months later, the answer remains the same, but with perhaps a greater appreciation of Brooklyn’s logic — they got a lot of draft picks.

There are so many picks that the Knicks now only control one of their own first-rounders through 2030.

And the highlight of the Nets haul — at least the short-term highlight — may have already changed.

The Knicks sent the Nets four of their unprotected first-round draft picks for 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031, along with a 2028 pick swap.

The protected top-4 pick arrives courtesy of the Bucks, and it’s suddenly more intriguing given the struggles of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 4-8 team.

In other words, it could be as high as No. 5 for the Nets, and currently has the feel of a lottery pick.

Bridges, meanwhile, had been largely underwhelming heading into Friday’s matchup.

He adjusted his shooting form and hit just 30 percent of his treys — foul shots from everywhere but the corner.

More concerning, however, was Bridges’ defense.

He was promoted as an elite wing-stopper, but ranked near the bottom of the advanced defensive statistics before facing his former team.

“There are some things we do well defensively, but there are things we have to get better at,” coach Tom Thibodeau said after briefly explaining the philosophy of the trade. “Obviously we felt like he’s a good fit for us. He’s been a good player in the league for a long time, so we just liked the fit.”

Knicks guard Cam Payne, who was also teammates with Bridges in Phoenix, agreed that it has been a defensive adjustment.

“I think so because we have so many defenders,” he said. “So sometimes he’s not on the ball all the time. Sometimes he lets the guy go because we have so many guys defending. I don’t necessarily think he has a problem with that. I think he does fine. If he should turn it off, I know he’s fine. I know he’s not stressing it.”

Hart labeled the team’s overall defense “ass.”

But he also knows there is time — for the Knicks, Bridges, conclusions about a five-pick blockbuster and a struggling conference.

“We’re trying to find it,” Hart said. “And sometimes when you try to find it, it doesn’t come as quickly as you want. You can get frustrated, and those frustrations affect your energy level, things like that. We just have to understand at the end of the day that we’re not going to be the best, we’re going to be in game 10 or game 12. The goal is to be the best team we can be in the last game of the season. We can’t get too frustrated over it. We know, it’s going to take time. The advantage, at least right now, is that we’ve been trashed in the first 11 games, and I think we’re fourth in the standings. So East took a beating a little early. I think that’s the advantage for us.”