Longtime Boston Celtics talking head convinced Knicks will trade for Mikal Bridges

Boston Celtics fan and NBA podcast host Bill Simmons is convinced the New York Knicks will collect the final 2016 Villanova infinity stone, Mikal Bridges, from the Brooklyn Nets to team up with his ex-Wildcats teammate Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo via trade.

“They have a lot of options,” Simmons said of the Knicks on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" (h/t Essentially Sports). "I think they are gonna get Mikal Bridges as the big target; I think that’s who they want. I think they are going to try to overpay. I don’t think they want someone like a major star. That’s my big prediction.”

The Knicks have multiple draft picks over the next two years, so the opportunity to overpay is there. History also proves that New York is willing to overpay, though the current front office, led by Leon Rose, has yet to do so in a trade.

NY has, though, overpaid frequently in free agency. Hart and Brunson, who both proved themselves early on in their contracts at least, can be grouped into that category.

Knicks must shop Julius Randle to Nets to land Mikal Bridges

Knicks fans are convinced injuries robbed them of a chance to see the orange and blue in the Eastern Conference Finals after the team fell apart by the time Game 7 rolled around against the Indiana Pacers. And when it comes to Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson, that may just be the case.

But it's not the case with Julius Randle. The absence of the two-time All-NBA big arguably opened the floodgates for not only Brunson but for DiVincenzo and Hart to spread their wings during the 2024 postseason.

To land Bridges, Randle should be NY's main trade piece. His salary matches and he'd give Brooklyn a legitimate No. 1 option with the clout to sell tickets in the NYC market.

If the Knicks front office can coax the Nets into taking Randle for Bridges, New York will be whole, with everyone they need to make that magical run the city has been begging for since the 1970s.