In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green breaks down the New York Knicks' recent acquisition of Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, a deal that cost the Knicks five first‑round picks and several pick‑swap rights. He contextualizes the trade by comparing it to previous high‑profile moves such as the Rudy Gobert and Damian Lillard trades, noting how the market for draft assets has fluctuated. Green praises Bridges as a top‑tier two‑way wing—strong defensively and an efficient shooter—but argues that the Knicks' roster, even after re‑signing OG Anunoby to a $213 million contract, still lacks the offensive firepower needed to overcome the Boston Celtics. He predicts that, within a two‑ to three‑year window, the Knicks are unlikely to reach the NBA Finals; if the experiment fails, the team will likely revert to rebuilding and attempt to recoup lost picks. Throughout the discussion, Green interjects personal anecdotes (a debate with a Knicks fan at a wedding) and broader commentary on NBA culture, including the rapid turnover of coaches and GMs and the notion that only four to five teams truly contend for a championship each season. The segment also includes a Hyperice NormaTec Elite recovery product endorsement.
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Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. Nets trade Mikal Bridges to the Knicks for 5 first-round picks, 5 first-rounders, plus pick swaps. I was a little shocked. I was shocked because it's, It's crazy. So when Mikael got traded to the Nets from Phoenix, everybody kind of knew the Nets would at some point go into this rebuild that they just went into. And so everybody was kind of talking about what they would trade for Mikael Bridges. And you hear like 4 first round picks, 5 first round picks would be like the cost of the trade. And then the Rudy Gobert trade happened. And when the Rudy Gobert trade happened, Initially in the first year of it, it didn't look like it was working and everybody gives up on things extremely fast in this day and age that we live in. And so it didn't look like it was successful. So then everybody pulled back on like the draft picks, like, whoa, like they just took too many draft picks away. That's a heist. And then it kind of reset the market. So then in turn, you see how many picks Damian Lillard got drafted for, I mean, got traded for last year. Which was like 2 first round picks, I wanna say, plus Jrue Holiday. But we knew Portland didn't necessarily want Jrue Holiday. What they wanted was the picks. They then flipped Jrue Holiday for some players and some picks. But the market had been reset. And now with Mikal Bridges, with the Mikal Bridges trade, It's went right back up to the amount of picks that Rudy Gobert was traded for strictly due to the success that the Minnesota Timberwolves just had. So they go to the conference finals, have a tough conference finals, but everybody thought for a second like, yo, this team might win the finals. And so we always talk about the copycat league and look at that in an indirect way. You see it again. The copycat league. And so the Knicks give up a bunch of picks and what the Knicks essentially just did was, they pretty much just said they going for it now. And I think Mikal Bridges is one of the better wing players in our league. You know, great two-way player. He defends extremely well. Shoot the ball extremely well. I thought in—
Draymond Green.
Draymond Green in Brooklyn the second year, he got caught with the ball in his hands too much. And I don't think that's where he's at his best. I think he has the ball and if, when he has the ball, he can make plays. But I thought the ball was kind of in his hand a bit too much that second year. And I thought it hindered his play a little bit. Now he'll be back at his kind of his normal position where.
Yeah.
You know, he catching and shooting, he catching, attacking the closeouts. And I think that best suits him, allows him to play his best basketball. We know he can do something with the ball. And so it's always good to have those skills when you need to get to it. But I think he's better suited in more of it in his, like his role in Phoenix, but at a much higher volume. Like use him more, use him more within your offense for sure. But just coming down, calling for a pick and roll every time, I don't think that's where he's best suited. However, nonetheless, anyway, the New York Knicks went for it and they just mortgaged off their future saying, we got it right now. And that's been a hot topic here on the podcast during the playoffs because I told y'all, I, you know, what I thought about the New York Knicks. And I've had a bunch of New York Knicks fans come up to me over the last, Let's see, what it's been since the New York Knicks lost? Maybe a month. Over the last month, like, you were wrong about the Knicks. I was at a friend's wedding this weekend, actually in New York. And the best friend of the groom since elementary school, she's a New York Knicks fan, big time New York Knicks fan. And we had a little thing back and forth. For a while where she tried to tell me like, "You were wrong about my Knicks." I said, "Who was wrong?" And she was like, "You were wrong because blah, blah, blah." I said, "No, but the Knicks lost in the second round. So I was kind of right." And she was like, "No, such and such got hurt. And when OG Anunoby plays, we 26 and 6." blah, blah, blah. And this person was hurt and that person was hurt. And I said, well, I didn't necessarily say y'all were gonna be healthy or hurt. I said, I didn't think y'all would get much further. So I was right. And she went on this whole thing back and forth for a while. And like ultimately she ended up telling me I was right, which was true. But anyway.
Yeah.
Which brings us, you know, to this discussion. I think adding Mikal Bridges, re-signing OG Anunoby to a 5-year, $213 million contract, I think those are great things that makes that team better. And I think that team is gonna be tough 'cause they're gonna defend. We know Tibbs' teams are gonna defend. They got offensive weapons, but I ultimately don't think that team gets over the hump still. And so if the team doesn't get over the hump, say in 2 years, then everybody in the NBA get really impatient. Like, "Ah, it ain't working. We gotta make moves." And then it didn't. And then now you're looking to trade some of those guys to get some picks back in. Because you move on to where the Knicks were 4 or 5 years ago, which was 4 or 5 years away from being 4 or 5 years away. As a 12-year NBA veteran, recovery is very important to me. As I continue to get a little older, the body just doesn't bounce back the way it used to. So I'm a big fan of Hyperice, especially their NormaTec boots. 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Exclusions apply. And so now the Knicks are in a space where they're going for it, and I respect it. I think, you know, you gotta go for it at some point. But what just happened with the trade was that, you know, if this doesn't work in 2 to 3 years, the Knicks will be rebuilding again because they traded all their picks away. And then they'll be trying to like trade those guys to get picks back in. And that's kind of how it all plays out. And I'm sorry to the Knicks fans, but that's how I actually think it's gonna play out. Yeah. And I don't think it's any indictment to Mikal, who I think is like, like a top tier player in the NBA. Like, you know, you got tiers, but damn good player. Jalen Brunson, who's All-NBA. Julius, who's 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. Like, ultimately you're building a team that you hope can beat Boston. And I don't think that team is going to beat Boston. So you got like a year or two, like the Houston Rockets. I don't know if y'all remember the Rockets of old when we was on our run. I always talk to y'all about them. They're very interesting. Um, you got like 2 years and then it's like, oh, that didn't work, and Clint Capella gone. Like, and the first domino fall, and once the first domino fall, that's it, it's, it's going from there. And so that's what I kind of think is going to happen. Um, that's how I see it playing out. If it don't work, that's exactly how it will play out. So You heard it here first. Nonetheless, I think those are great moves by the Knicks. I just don't think they quite get you over the hump, which then you have to say, ah, looking down the road. But you know, I get it because if you're the front office, you gotta swing because if not, you're gonna get fired because we play in this league that only really 4 to 5 teams Wanna win. Everybody say they wanna win. And then a few more than the 4 or 5 will act like they wanna win. But the reality is every year, only really 4 to 5 teams really wanna win a championship. And y'all like, "Everybody wanna win, I don't get that." I'm not gonna take the time on this podcast to explain to you what I mean by that. Just know only 4 to 5 teams wanna win per year for real, doing everything they can do to win. But for some reason, coaches get fired fast like nobody's tomorrow in this league. GMs get fired after they get rid of, get done firing the coach a time or two to save their own ass. And it's all kind of like smoke and mirrors because everybody really not trying to win. If a team go to a playoffs a couple years in a row and get to like the second round, if they get to like the second round or first round exit, second round exit, even mix in a conference finals here and there, then a year or two later, if they don't do the same thing, they get fired. But they be getting fired by these teams that don't really wanna win. And so it's a very interesting, dynamic in the NBA. I just been thinking about this a lot. Like why so many coaches get fired? Oh, they get fired because the GM throw them under the bus to save his ass. All right, then the GM gonna get fired shortly after that. And it's just like this ongoing cycle. But you see like all of these bad teams who really don't win the championships be the teams that's firing their coaches. And so in a league where that happens, That's what goes on with these teams. Everybody overreacts and it happens fast. So they got 2 years, they on the clock, New York Knicks fans. In the next 3 years, do the New York Knicks make it to the NBA Finals? Yes or no? No, I do not think so. No, health is important. Health is very important. And I'll tell you now, I don't wanna see that team in the regular season because they are going to be playing harder than nobody's tomorrow. I kid you not, that team defensively is going, by the way, defensively, that team is going to be tough, like tough, tough. And playing against a team like that during the regular season when you really don't got time to like prepare, And then you go up against that defense, man, it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be hard. Like, that would not shock me if they get a number 1 seed, number 2 seed, wouldn't shock at all. But ultimately, I think when it comes down to winning a championship, you have to have guys who can get a bucket by any means necessary on anybody. I don't care who your defensive adjustment is, who you go to, that guy gotta be able to get a bucket on him in order to carry a team to a championship. And like, there are guys you can make it tough on. And so I don't think so. Uh, that's just my opinion. I'm sorry, Knicks fans. They'll be like, you're a hater. Like, no, I just got an opinion and that's it.
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