After a surprise trade on Tuesday night that added Mikal Bridges to the Knicks’ Villanova collection, there was one reaction from a super fan that hit social media quickly — in a surprise to no one.
“First Take” personality Stephen A. Smith recorded his reaction to the stunning move about a half hour after ESPN colleague Adrian Wojnarowski reported late that the Nets, who did not have any draft picks for the 2024 NBA Draft, agreed to send Bridges just across the East River in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031), a 2025 protected first-rounder via the Bucks, a 2028 unprotected pick swap and a 2025 second-round pick.
“Yes!” Smith shared in a video on X while his camera shook with excitement. “Now, I know that y’all sitting out there and y’all saying ‘It’s Mikal Bridges, he’s a good player but it ain’t like you got KD or somebody.’ Bump all that, OK!
“Chemistry matters. Reliability matters. Consistency matters. Defense matters. The brother can shoot. The brother can play. I’m sorry, I like this move by the New York Knicks. He’s young. He’s energetic. He’s seasoned. He defends and he fits right into the culture of the New York Knicks, and that’s all I ask. That’s all I ask.
“You crawl before you walk. We crawled last year, we gonna walk and we close to sprinting. I still think we need another piece! But we have moved in the right direction. I like this! I like this! I like this! Go New York Go New York Go! Whoa! We crawl before we rise. Here we come.”
Nevertheless, Smith was not always this enthusiastic about Bridges, nor the other Villanova players that now the Knicks have added to their roster over the last few years.
Bridges, along with Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart, overlapped for two seasons under head coach Jay Wright and won a national championship together in the 2015-16 season.
Additionally, three of them, sans Hart, went on to do it again in 2018.
And after the 2016 run, Smith said that “Villanova doesn’t have a real NBA prospect on this squad,” in a “First Take” clip that resurfaced Tuesday night.
He has since eaten his words after watching the Knicks put out an undeniably gritty, relentless effort in the playoffs despite injury woes that nearly derailed the season.
Brunson also has become a New York star in his own right.
He earned his first All-Star nod this past season and placed fifth in voting for MVP, Clutch Player of the Year and Most Improved Player awards after putting up a career-best average of 28.7 points per game.
