Stephen A. Smith, Chris Russo debate on "First Take" Credit: ESPN Chris Russo tempered Stephen A. Smith’s enthusiasm for the Knicks’ Mikal Bridges trade.
By Arthur Weinstein on

The New York Knicks’ huge trade late Tuesday that landed them high-scoring forward Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets immediately whipped social media into a frenzy.

ESPN’s First Take dove right into the topic Wednesday morning, with Stephen A. Smith predictably praising the Knicks’ move. The trade involved the Knicks sending Bojan Bogdanovic and five first-round picks to Brooklyn, along with a second-round pick and a pick swap. The theme that quickly emerged on social media: It’s a high-risk, high-reward trade for the Knicks.

Smith, a Knicks fan, liked the trade so much that he retweeted ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski trade report Tuesday night, and reacted by… well, see for yourself.

So on First Take, Smith again praised the deal, leading Chris “Mad Dog” Russo to respond.

“Oh my god, take it easy. This is not Howard Komives for Dave DeBusschere,” Russo said.

The 64-year-old Russo’s reference to that 1968 Knicks trade with the Detroit Pistons was certainly lost on many younger fans, but DeBusschere’s arrival in New York helped spark the Knicks dynasty that won two NBA championships in the early 1970s.

Russo is definitely not getting the same vibe from the Bridges trade.

“I mean (Bridges) is not the missing piece to win a championship,” Russo said. “Does he make the Knicks marginally better? Absolutely. Are the Knicks a team now that could win 53-54 games? Absolutely!

“Take it easy, Steve, they got marginally better. He’s a nice player. But you know, when the Nets got him from Phoenix, he was supposed to be a linchpin for the next decent Nets team, and they couldn’t even make the playoffs. So before you sit there and tell me he’s going to score 24 a game, and get them real close to Boston …”

“I don’t need him to score 24 a game,” Smith interrupted.

At that point, the two began shouting their thoughts on the Knicks’ playoff exit this year.

Fans were generally amused by the whole exchange, although Russo’s reference to that long-ago DeBusschere trade baffled some.

With the NBA Draft set to take place on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see if any other Knicks-related moves come and what decades-old references they elicit from Russo.

[First Take]

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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