theathleticuk
Throw caution to the wind.
The second apron is not as daunting as some claim.
And if the New York Knicks remain below it, as owner James Dolan said they would, they will enter next season as a worse basketball team.
The second apron, a payroll threshold that projects to be $222 million in 2026-27, might scare off most organizations, but until Dolan popped up on the radio earlier this month, New York was not supposed to be one of them.
As the general spiel goes, the issue with crossing into such expensive territory, a marker thats $21 million above the luxury tax, is not just the money; its the lost resources.
Go beyond that $222 million figure, and a franchise kisses away the ability to make most types of trades and execute most kinds of free-agent signings.
Advertisement The Knicks front office knows this.
And yet, it also understands that dipping below the second apron would lead to much of its depth flocking elsewhere, which is why, despite Dolans desires, it wants to go over the second apron, according to league sources, who were granted anonymity to speak freely.
But so far, Dolan has not changed his mind.
New York just won a title in large part because of its reserves, because Landry Shamet did not miss a 3-pointer for a month, because Jose Alvarado changed Game 4 of the NBA Finals, because Mitchell Robinson grabbed six offensive boards in the clincher, because Miles Deuce McBride went berserk to polish off the Philadelphia 76ers, and because Jordan Clarkson nailed a floater here or grabbed a rebound there.
As Clarkson repeated whenever prompted with wonders of how this group reached such nirvana: Were good as f-.
All the way down the roster.
Stay under the second apron, and that changes, as The Athletics James Edwards wrote earlier this week.
The Knicks lose many of those players without the ability to replace them.
The smart basketball strategy is to retain the assets, to re-sign free agents Robinson and Shamet, especially.
But Dolan disagrees with the experts.
We cannot go into the second apron, he told WFAN on June 17.
He continued: Were willing to stretch, but theres certain things in the NBA that youd have to be suicidal to do.
One of them is the second apron.
In general, Dolans logic is correct.
Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the only team whose payroll ascended past the second apron.
But the Knicks are no longer trying to reach the mountaintop.
Theyre already there.
Sure, if they had fallen to the Atlanta Hawks in Round 1, then flexibility would be a greater goal.
The Knicks would need to improve, and soaring in the most constrictive financial landscape in the NBA would take away most paths to do so.
But that is not reality.
Advertisement The Knicks are no longer contenders.
They are a step above.
And you dont break up title teams for no reason.
Just ask the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.
Otherwise, what is the goal of team-building at all? So, why would Dolan insist upon staying under the second apron? Maybe he is generalizing with one-size-fits-all logic.
Or maybe he just doesnt want to spend the money.
Robinson, Shamet, Alvarado, Clarkson and Ariel Hukporti can hit free agency next week.
If Dolan changes his mind before then, the Knicks can retain their guys.
But in doing so, their payroll (and luxury-tax payments) would reach new levels.
Lets outline the cheapest realistic scenario in which the Knicks re-sign their most consequential second-stringers.
Hypothetically, lets say Robinson re-signs on a $15 million 2026-27 salary; Shamet comes back for $5.5 million; Alvarado declines his $4.5 million player option and lands on a three-year, $9 million contract, choosing security over a slightly higher salary.
The Knicks round out the roster by dumping third-year wing Pacome Dadiet, then signing two veterans and one of their second-round picks to minimum deals.
In that case, they would go approximately $8 million over the second apron threshold, resulting in a tax payment of $90 million.
The money balloons from there.
For example, if Robinson were to cost $20 million, Shamet cost $9 million and Alvarado picked up his player option, the Knicks would climb $18 million above the second apron, resulting in a tax bill near $150 million.
Dolan has poured money into the Knicks over the years.
Hes paid out coaches and executives contracts just to make changes.
The team fired Tom Thibodeau last summer, a month before the coachs three-year extension even began.
But doling out in the realm of $30 million for three years to change leadership on the bench does not compare to these tax payments.
Advertisement Other owners have jumped past the second apron some justified, others not so much.
The Cavaliers did it last season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics have done it since it came into existence in 2023.
If the mandate from Dolan sticks, if the Knicks actually stay below the second apron, breathing room would close up quickly.
They would not be able to bring back Robinson.
They could use the $6 million mid-level exception to find another backup center, but then Shamet would be gone.
Or that $6 million could go to Shamet, who is due for a raise, but then the rest of the roster, including Robinsons former spot, receives only minimum contracts.
The Knicks employ one of the leagues best-respected cap strategy departments.
They will find ways to cut corners.
They just swindled trade after trade at the NBA Draft, heading into Tuesday with picks No.
24 and 31 and sliding down to save money.
Of course, those moves have already sacrificed potential talent and depth.
They can go up to four total weeks during the regular season with fewer than 14 players on the roster, which would trim some pork.
They could technically go over the second apron temporarily, as long as they dipped back below it before the end of 2026-27.
If they went right up against the second apron, they would still run up a tax bill of $49 million.
So, it could ding Dolan an extra $40 million to $100 million, maybe more, for the Knicks to scoot past the second apron.
But dipping below it would result in an incomplete group that still lacked flexibility.
It would mean breaking up a champion, one filled with players still in their primes.
There is a financial argument to retain Robinson & Co., too.
A shallow squad would be more likely to fall early in the playoffs and thus could fail to produce the revenue that a title team does.
But that, of course, is up for debate.
The rest is not.
If the Knicks stay below the second apron, good players will leave, and they wont have the tools to replace them.
There is no on-court or CBA-related reason to break up this bench.