Every dollar counts for the Knicks under the new collective bargaining agreement.
After the Mikal Bridges trade, the Knicks could be hard capped on the NBA’s first platform. This would limit them to $178 million in team salary.
The Knicks entered the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday with $172 million in team salary for eight players, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
It’s incredibly difficult to fill a roster with just $6 million.
The Knicks’ actions on Wednesday night give them some more financial flexibility.
New York was able to shed salary by trading one of its first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for five future second-round picks. The Knicks selected Pacome Dadite with the other first-round pick. If they draft and save Dadiet and sign two second-round picks to minimum deals, the Knicks will have saved $3 million in team salary.
The Knicks can avoid the first hard cap on the platform by expanding the Bridges trade. They would have to add about $5 million in salary to the transaction.
If they achieve that, the Knicks will have a hard cap on the second platform ($189.5 million).
This would give them enough flexibility to Isaiah Hartenstein a deal that starts at $16.2 million. The Knicks are limited to that offer because they have Hartenstein’s early bird rights.
They can offer Hartenstein a four-year contract worth as much as $72 million.
Teams with max cap space could offer Hartenstein much more than $72 million over four years. With Hartenstein expected to be a top target for several teams, it has become unlikely that the Knicks will be able to keep their center. (Hartenstein could, of course, choose to take significantly less money and return to New York.)
With Hartenstein’s situation up in the air, expect the Knicks to continue looking for ways to shed salary and avoid the first apron.
What they did on Wednesday gave them a little flexibility. But they will have to do more to build a roster that can compete with the top teams in the NBA.
