The Knicks made two major splashes within 24 hours to kick off this year’s free agency period, putting themselves into NBA title contention for at least the 2024-25 season.
New York traded for Mikal Bridges on Tuesday, June 25, and followed it up by re-signing O.G. Anunoby to a five-year contract extension the next day.
The Knicks paid the premium to get both Bridges and Anunoby, but it sets them up as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with title hopes as early as this upcoming season. They traded Bojan Bogdanovic, five first-rounders, a pick swap and a second-rounder for Bridges. They then paid Anunoby $ 212.5 million.
The moves increase the Knicks’ title chances, so let’s take a look at how the rotation will look with all players healthy at the start of the 2024-25 season.
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How Mikal Bridges, O.G. Anunoby impact Knicks rotation
The Knicks will have their most talented lineup with Bridges and Anunoby in the rotation.
Anunoby played with the Knicks for the second half of the 2023-24 season, slotting in as the team’s starting small forward after the trade deadline. He’ll retake that role after briefly testing free agency.
In 23 games, Anunoby averaged 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks with the Knicks while shooting 39.4 percent from 3.
Bridges, on the other hand, will slide into the starting shooting guard position, creating perhaps the most lethal defensive wing duo in the NBA. That means Donte DiVincenzo will move to the bench.
Bridges joins the Knicks after averaging 19.6 points per game in the 2023-24 season. He’ll transition from being a No. 1 option in Brooklyn to a role in New York more similar to the one he had in Phoenix when he played alongside Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
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Josh Hart, who also received a lot of starting time, will return to the bench with the return of Julius Randle.
Here’s what the depth chart looks like ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft:
| Position | Starter | Bench |
| PG | Jalen Brunson | Miles McBridge |
| SG | Mikal Bridges | Donte DiVincenzo |
| SF | O.G. Anunoby | Josh Hart |
| PF | Julius Randle | Precious Achiuwa* |
| C | Mitchell Robinson | Jericho Sims |
*Restricted free agent
New York owns the No. 24 and No. 25 picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, so it’s possible the franchise adds more depth in the first round. The Knicks could also trade back to acquire more picks since they dealt many away in the Bridges trade.
