These past few games, we’re starting to see the very best of Mikal Bridges again, which has been a reminder that there was a reason the Knicks targeted Bridges in the first place.

The blockbuster trade that sent Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn to Broadway for five first-round draft picks, a second-rounder and a first-round pick swap felt like a seismic move that said a lot about the directions the two franchises were headed. The Knicks were going for it. The Nets were rebuilding again.

Mikal Bridges faced the Nets this weekend for the first time since the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Knicks.