A few comments after the draft on the Knicks…
CAP CRUNCH
The Knicks’ salary is currently hard-capped at $178.6 million for 2024-25. They currently have $173 million in salary committed to 13 players for next year. (This assumes the first-round pick Pacome Dadite and second-round picks Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar Jr. And Ariel Hukporti (sign for standard second round contracts.)
Naturally, New York wants more than $5 million available to complete the roster.
They have a fixed maximum of $178.6 million because of the Mikal Bridges trade. The Knicks are currently sending out more salary than they are getting back. That activates the hard cap at the first platform.
They can remove the hard cap if they increase trade to send out more salary than they bring in. Currently, they’re bringing in $4.2 million more than they’re sending out.
RULED OUT?
Immediately following the deal, the Knicks believed there were viable ways to avoid the first apron hard cap.
They can do this by acting Mile McBride ($4.7 million salary for 2024-25) or sign and trade Alec Burks or Precious Achiuwaper Yossi Gozlan (who is a great source for salary cap details).
If they can pull off one of those trades and add it to the Bridges deal, the Knicks would avoid the first-apron hard cap. They would then be capped on the second apron. So their team salary could be no more than $182.7 million.
(Yes, they could also generate more money to spend in free agency by signing a veteran like Mitchell Robinson or Julius Randle. But the Knicks did not walk away from the Bridges trade with a plan to move Randle, per a person in contact with the team. I’m not here to predict the future and say definitively that the Knicks won’t trade Randle, but the Bridges trade did not lead to a clear plan to make that kind of trade, per person in contact with the team.)
WHAT ABOUT HARTENSTEIN?
Let’s say the Knicks can extend the Bridges trade and outdo the first apron. Then they have enough money to re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein.
Going into the NBA Draft, Hartenstein was expected to be a top target for several teams at the start of free agency (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET). As we noted, that made it increasingly unlikely that the Knicks would be able to keep the big man.
Once again, they’ll be able to fit the $16.1 million maximum first-year salary they can offer him under the second apron. If Hartenstein signs elsewhere, the Knicks can use the $5 million midlevel exception to sign a free-agent center without going over the second apron.
