According to Bill Simmons, the New York Knicks plan to grow their Villanova Wildcat team. Now that the Knicks’ season is finished, fantasy basketball has returned to prominence in Manhattan, especially in light of their recent near-championship run.

Longtime columnist Simmons, who is well-known for his devotion to the Boston Celtics, thinks the Knicks will try to sign Mikal Bridges, a current player for the Brooklyn Nets, although he may have been biased against his hometown team because of this.

“I firmly believe Mikal Bridges will be their primary target. In an interview with his own podcast, Simmons stated, “I believe that’s who they want.””I believe they want those four Villanova guys together, not like a big star, so I think they’re going to try to overpay.” That’s the kind of person they desire.”

The success of Villanova alumni like Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart served as the foundation for the Knicks’ most recent campaign, which saw them get within one victory of the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.

Behind the “Nova Knicks,” New York triumphed against multiple health setbacks to win 50 games and earn the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. This was the first time the team had reached each milestone in more than ten years.

So, it should come as no surprise that they would look to recruit more former Wildcats to help them overcome the second-round hump that has proven to be too difficult for them to overcome in the last two seasons. Hart has even made a number of amusing attempts to hire Bridges, all of which have evidently failed thus far.

Bridges was the main beneficiary of the trade that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix since he plays in Brooklyn, which is across town. The de facto star of the current Nets squad, who traded for Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Durant after they admitted they couldn’t succeed in another superteam attempt, is the 2016 collegiate national champion.

Despite being the star of the show, Bridges had a difficult first year, averaging just 19.6 points on 43.6 percent shooting, which was his lowest since his rookie year in Phoenix.

Bridges’ ability to stay on the floor is one trait that the usually undermanned Knicks would find highly appealing:

In fact, after last year’s trade between Brooklyn and Phoenix, Bridges became just the 42nd player in NBA history to play more than 82 games in a single season. He has not missed a single regular season game due to injury in any of his first six tours.

The Knicks would undoubtedly need to trade one or more veterans to Brooklyn in order to barter for Bridges, especially with an in-city rival, but they undoubtedly have the draft capital to give up in such a deal: With two of those picks coming up next month, Manhattan will have four first-round picks over the next two rounds.

After giving Houston what would ultimately become the third pick in exchange for Harden’s services in 2021, Brooklyn is left without a first-round selection.