The Knicks have finally clinched the NBA championship after 53 years. The banners have been raised, the celebration parade took place, and the challenging part is starting now.
It will be a great challenge for the front office to keep this team together as it will cost them much more than what anyone had initially thought.
Championship teams rarely get to run it back untouched. The salary cap makes sure of that. And now, the Knicks are staring at a free agency situation that could force them to say goodbye to some of the guys who helped them get there.
Shams Charania Says Shamet and Robinson Are Likely Out if Knicks Stay Below Second Apron
GettyKnicks Hit With Tough Landry Shamet Reality After NBA Finals Victory
During NBA Draft coverage, ESPN’s Hannah Storm asked whether the Knicks would be bringing back Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet. Shams Charania’s answer was blunt.
“If they’re trying to stay below the 2nd apron those two guys will not be back.”
Shams: “If they’re trying to stay below the 2nd apron those two guys will not be back”
The second apron is one of the NBA’s harshest financial penalties for big spenders. Owner James Dolan said on WFAN that he does not want to spend into the second apron. If he means it, the math gets ugly fast.
The Knicks have about $205 million tied up in 10 players already. Once they add the minimum roster spots, they will have approximately $11.6 million remaining before reaching the second apron. Even dividing that amount between Robinson and Shamet is out of the question.
What the Knicks Losing Shamet Would Actually Mean
GettyKnicks’ Championship Core Faces Another Blow With Landry Shamet Update
Shamet joined New York on a minimum deal and shot 47.5% from three during the playoffs. He was a fan favorite, a two-way backup who punched well above his price tag. Now an unrestricted free agent, he is expected to draw serious interest after that kind of postseason.
One projection has Shamet landing a three-year, $45 million deal on the open market. That is not a number the Knicks can match without crossing the apron. They hold his Bird rights and could technically match any offer, but Dolan’s stance makes that unlikely.
Robinson faces a similar situation. Coming off a deal worth roughly $15 million annually, he could draw offers from teams willing to hand him a starting role. Losing both him and Shamet would strip out a big chunk of the roster that held things together through a 53-year drought.
The Knicks drafted Vanderbilt’s forward Tyler Nickel towards the end of the second round. He is a shooter and at the very least he can be a simpler version of Shamet. It would be a reasonable backup plan. But this also indicates that the management might be envisaging the future without him.
The decision ahead is straightforward but not easy: go into the second apron and keep the core, or rebuild the bench on the cheap and hope the starters carry it again.
Knicks Hit With Bad Landry Shamet News Amid Free Agency Uncertainty