Mikal Bridges ready for whatever comes next as Knicks title should ease past trade scrutiny

Mikal Bridges could not escape it.The intense scrutiny on him, given the five first-round picks the Knicks traded to the Nets to acquire him.The immense pressure to live up to the price the Knicks paid.

The heavy criticism when fans felt he was underachieving and not worthy of that price.“I got a phone,” Bridges said after practice Wednesday.“Even if I don’t want to see it or anything, it’s always there.

That’s just life.People talk about anything and that’s all right, you just gotta go about your business.

People can think however they want to think, I just know that I’m gonna work hard and try to be the best teammate that I can be and best player that I can be and continue to try and help win as much as I can.”A championship should put to bed any debate over the trade.It should validate the deal, given how important Bridges was throughout the playoffs.

It should bring long-awaited — and much-deserved — recognition from fans.“F–k them picks” became a rallying cry among those fans after the championship regarding the Bridges trade, one he even repeated after they clinched the title, saying, “You talking about f–k them picks? F–k ’em … I’m still here.”It feels like entering his third season with the Knicks, fan sentiment around him should be at an all-time high.But does he actually now feel fully appreciated by Knicks fans?“I don’t know,” Bridges said.

“I’m not sure about that.Can just say that I’m appreciative of fans.

If I see them when I’m walking my dog or something like that, just a lot of nice things to say.That’s foremost, kind of more like a human on human interaction, just very nice and grateful to be in this position.

I don’t need to feel like there’s validation and there’s like, ‘OK, now he can…’ No, I hold myself accountable at all times.”Looking back, Bridges has an important perspective about the scrutiny and the pressure and the criticism.They weren’t pleasant, but he is ...