31 July 2023
The Knicks, in terms of salary construction and inside the context of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, are in a good position. Their house is in order, even if they remain far off title contention.
What does that mean, exactly? It’s multi-layered, but best explained by this encouraging statistic: The Knicks, who finished among the top 8 after winning their first playoff series in a decade, don’t have a single player in the top 50 of the NBA’s highest-paid for next season.
They have No. 52 (Jalen Brunson, $26.3 million), No. 53 (Julius Randle, $25.7 million) and No. 61 (RJ Barrett, $23.9 million), but none of their current contracts can be considered bad. At worst, some are questionable. Even Evan Fournier’s expiring contract has value.
This may change soon with extensions due for Josh Hart and Immanuel Quickley. We’ll see. The word on Hart’s extension, which will be delivered in August, is in the range of four years, $75 million. Quickley, we hear, is looking for something bigger before the October deadline.
Still, as we sit in July of 2023 with essentially a full roster, team president Leon Rose, the media-shy former CAA agent, is being rewarded for his approach. He now has the benefit of time (all the starters are signed through at least the 2024-25 season) and future draft capital (as many as 10 first-round picks through 2029).
This carries more significance and benefit under the new CBA, which crushes teams for paying above the luxury tax. The penalties aren’t just monetary anymore. A team that goes above the second apron of the luxury tax – ahem, Warriors and Bucks – can’t use a trade exception, can’t include cash in a trade, can’t trade draft picks seven years out and, most importantly, can’t use the mid-level exception.
In other words, these franchises are restricted from adding new talent to their roster. If it’s not their own draft pick or a minimum contract, good luck. The goal is parity and the prevention of dynasties, which the NBA feels it achieved with five different champions over the last five years.
“That was very much our intention,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month. “I think with this new agreement, it will help to further distribute great players around the league.”
But it also stifles organic builds. The Nuggets, for instance, would’ve certainly reached the second apron just by re-signing their own draft picks, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Their ability to add championship depth to those three players would’ve been snipped at the legs.
These restrictions arrive as salaries skyrocket. The latest obscenity was Jaylen Brown’s five-year, $303 million extension, a deal that ends in 2027-28 with a $64.7 million salary. Brown is a nice player, but you’d be hard pressed to include him in the NBA’s top 20. His contract is roughly equivalent to Brunson’s, Randle’s and Barrett’s combined.
Whether foresight or good fortune, Rose had good timing on his long term deals. But his restraint is also a product of a sadder reality. The Knicks, despite their upswing last season, can’t be confused as championship contenders.
The Celtics, Nuggets, Bucks and Warriors are all spending more because they have belief – mostly legitimate – in their chances. What Rose has done is maximize the value of a smaller operation while situating it in a good position to expand.
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