It was no secret all summer long that the Knicks needed help at center after Isaiah Hartenstein took the big payday to go to another contender in Oklahoma City. Long before the Karl-Anthony Towns trade came together, the New York front office looked everywhere for another suitable big.
Enter Walker Kessler and the Utah Jazz. Marc Stein reports in his latest newsletter that the sides talked but Utah president Danny Ainge demanded the Knicks two remaining protected first-round picks (the 2025 picks from Washington and Detroit, both protected and unlikely to convey this year). New York could have countered with pick swaps, but whatever the conversations were, no deal was reached.
That opened the door for the Towns blockbuster trade that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota, along with that Pistons first-round pick (top-13 protected in 2025, but likely to convey as a first in 2026 or 2027). The Knicks kept their Wizards first-rounder, which is top-10 protected this season (and with the Wizards expected to tank, Washington will keep that pick this year). That pick is top-eight protected in 2026 and, if not conveyed, then converts into two second-rounders.
Stein also reaffirms in his newsletter something already written about and expected: Mikal Bridges will not talk about an extension with the Knicks until next offseason.
The reason is money and flexibility. Under the rules of the CBA, right now the most Bridges can extend for is two years at about $61 million, but at the end of the season he could extend for up to four years and $156 million. While it’s rumored Bridges might be willing to take a financial discount to help out the Knicks (as Jalen Brunson did), it would still make sense for him to wait and get the security of years as well as a little more money.
