The New York Knicks are $300,000 below the “second apron” after trading Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. The Knicks are not allowed to go beyond the second apron at any point this season.
It was a great execution of the plan. “It’s been five years in the making,” Tom Thibodeau said. “We’re accumulating draft capital and taking every opportunity and stepping forward and seeing what we can do.”
There were several key instances where the Knicks were ultimately able to drop the cap at 24-25 to execute the Towns trade. For example, Jalen Brunson’s contract in 2022 decreased by $1.3 million from last season to this season. Mitchell Robinson’s contract also decreased by $1.3 million from last season to this season. The Knicks also declined to extend a qualifying offer to Precious Achiuwa, saving them $300,000 over what it would have cost them if they offered him and signed him. In the end, the Knicks signed Pacham Dadiette to 80 percent of his first-year salary slot, saving him $800,000.
Brock Aller, the Knicks’ vice president of strategic planning, is credited with leading many of the team’s cap-saving deals.
“Brock was great,” said Thibodeau, who previously led the Timberwolves’ front office. “And it’s not easy. It’s your immediate plan and it’s your future plan. You have to look at it almost three different ways. There’s a basketball perspective, and then there’s that on the floor. What does something mean? And there are economic implications. And you also have to consider the penalty aspects, so you need to dig into all three of these things before making a decision. They did a great job.”
