Dolan says second apron not an option for Knicks
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- James Dolan told WFAN on Wednesday the Knicks "cannot go into the second apron" for 2026-27, calling it "suicidal" — even after the team won its first NBA championship in 53 years.
- Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Knicks are projected to be $13 million below the second apron this summer, having finished just $200,000 under the threshold last season.
- Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet are free agents, and Jose Alvarado has until Monday to decide on a $4.5 million player option — decisions that could push New York closer to the line.
- The Knicks and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns failed to agree on a contract extension before 2025-26; the two sides can resume talks this summer, with Towns having keyed a record 13-game playoff winning streak.
- Since the second apron took effect in the 2023 CBA, only the Cleveland Cavaliers (this past season), Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves have crossed the threshold.
- Crossing the apron would cost the Knicks the ability to send cash in trades, use the $6.1 million tax midlevel exception, aggregate salaries, use more than 100% of the traded player exception, and could freeze or push back their first-round pick seven years out.
- Dolan said he will "write as big of a check as possible" but is leaving personnel calls to Knicks president Leon Rose.
Why it matters: With the Knicks $13 million of projected breathing room already threatened by three free-agent decisions, refusing the second apron functionally caps how much of the title-winning roster Dolan can retain — making this summer's Towns extension talks and the Robinson/Shamet/Alvarado decisions the practical test of whether the Knicks run it back or trim a core that just won a championship.
