Jalen Brunson blamed Knicks struggles Mikal Bridges trade and contract extension
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 15: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 2026 in New York City.
The New York Knicks completed a 21-point comeback win over what has been deemed the ‘G-League Golden StateWarriors’ on Sunday, but despite Jalen Brunson scoring a game-high 30 points, he was still the subject of recent harsh criticism.
Speaking onESPN’sFirst Take, host Stephen A. Smith said that he blames Brunson for both theKnicks’ overall struggles this season, as well as the team signing Mikal Bridges to a massive contract extension.
“The personI’m blaming most for all of this is Jalen Brunson,”Smith said. “I had the Knicks going to the Finals…andit’s because of what will go down as an absolutely horrific trade if Mikal Bridges continues to look the way thathe’s looking.”
First Take
“I’m sick. … I had the New York Knicks going to the Finals. I damn sure don’t have that now.”
—@stephenasmith following the Knicks’ 21-point comeback vs. Warriors 👀
Bridges has scored single-digit points in five of his last six games, andin that span, New York has gone 4-2, but Smithdoesn’t believe they are true title contenders.
Jalen Brunson Blamed For Mikal Bridges Signing, Knicks Struggles
Bridges had a hot start to this season, and there were conversations about either him or OG Anunoby being All-Stars. But recently,he’s left a lot on the table, as he scored just seven points on 3/10 shooting in the narrow win over the Warriors.
The Knicks traded five first-round picks for Bridges in 2024 and signed him to a four-year, $150 million contract extension over the summer. While Brunson signed a deal worth less than he could have, Smith believes that Brunson taking a pay cut for the franchise to trade for his ‘friend‘and former college teammatewasn’t a good move.
“They did that because, instead of waiting a year and signing a five-year, $270 million max extension, Jalen Brunson signed a four-year, $156 million extension the year before, giving the New York Knicks a $113 million discount around that range,”Smith said. “So what do the New York Knicks do? Obviously, he saves them that kind of money: he did it so they could go get his boy.”
While Smith went on to give props to Bridges in some aspects of the game,like his overall availability, he criticized theforward’s recent play and what the Knicks had to give up in the trade to acquire him.
NBACentral
Stephen A. Smith says Jalen Brunson is the reason the Knicks won’t win a championship and blames him for the Mikal Bridges trade. 😳
“You can’t let your organization give up that much to get a dude that’s going to ultimately handicap you from building a roster that can compete
“Heain’t an All-Star,”he added. “Youcan’t let your organization give up that much to get a dudethat’s going to ultimately handicap you from building a roster that can compete for a championship.”
On the season, Bridges is averaging 14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 48.8% shooting in 69 games,but in March, those numbers have dropped toten points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 39.6/30/75 shootingsplits.
Knicks Title Hopes Under Head Coach Mike Brown
While the Knicks did give up a lot to both trade for and resign Bridges, he is by no means the only concern facing the roster at this point in the season, a year that has featured some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows in head coach MikeBrown’s first year leading the team.
“You look worse with (Brown) this season than you ever looked with Tom Thibodeau,”Smith said of the Knicks. “How’s this team going to beat Boston?How’s this team going to beat Cleveland?… That was a G-League team they went against last night. You almost lost to them.”
DespiteSmith’s claims, New York has just about the same record right now with Brown as they did last season with Thibodeau.But with the issues facing Bridges,Karl-Anthony Towns, concernson defense and three-point shooting,it’s fair to say thatwith the other title contenders in the East,they have stiff competitionthey’ll need to beat in the playoffs.
“It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison — with factors such as schedule, health, etc. — but this Knicks team has hit higher peaks this season compared with last. To the contrary, New York has five combined losses this season to the current bottom five teams in the NBA,”James L. Edwards wrote forThe Athletic. ”This team does hit lower lows compared with lastseason’s squad — as made evident Sunday night in a 3-point win against a depleted Warriors team featuring a bunch of no-names.”
The Knicksdo have a lot more depth on the 2025-26 roster compared toin previous years, but as a whole, the notion of the team underperforming based on the talentthey have available has been clear all season. Towns’ numbers are down, Bridges is in a slump, lingering injuries have been a bigger issue, and they consistently lose gamesthey’re expected to win.
Ian Begley
Mike Brown spent several minutes of his postgame press conference talking about team needing to start games with more focus and physicality. Said he’s not at a point now where’d he is going to change lineup but he won’t hesitate to do so if he feels need to
Brown has made major changes to both the day-to-day game plan and rotation this season, but as a whole, the Knicksgetting back to the conference finals feels like their peak this season.Yes, they have the ability,just based onthe rostered talent, to win four postseason roundsin a row, butthey’ve failed toshow they canplay at a high level for that periodof time.
“Wewon’t know for sure if the Knicks will perform better in the playoffs this time around,”Edwards added. Only time will tell that.”