Steve Popper: 2026 champion Knicks, 2025 champion Thunder in same boat in terms of second apron
Knicks owner James Dolan speaks during the Knicks' NBA championship parade on June 18, 2026, in NYC. Credit: AP/Yuki Iwamura
The Knicks are hardly the only team that is as carefully focused on the second apron as it is on the on-court product. As defending champions trying to hold their roster together, they only have to look at the team that preceded them as champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to see the reality that they are not alone.
The Thunder, with one of their greatest strengths being the waves of players developed who have provided depth that no other team could match, began shedding salaries this past week.
They traded Isaiah Joe to Detroit for a pair of second-round picks just days after dealing Aaron Wiggins to Atlanta for the same return. The moves, along with the new contract for Isaiah Hartenstein that pared $3 million off his 2026-27 salary, saved them about $23 million in payroll, with more cutting still to come.
The issue for the Knicks is similar, but from a different angle. They are trying to figure out a way to retain as much as possible of the roster that brought them their first title in 53 years while keeping the payroll below the $222 million second apron number, an edict that Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan declared is not changing.
One way the Knicks managed to save some money can be reflected in the draft night strategy of the two teams.
Oklahoma City added two first-round picks, Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz, with the two requiring a commitment of guaranteed first-round deals totaling approximately $10.5 million in their rookie years.
It’s hard to say that the Sam Presti-led Thunder front office has not done a tremendous job drafting and developing talent. But it has come at a cost and forced the Thunder to hold an auction for much of the work they did, with all kinds of rumors surfacing about more changes to come. This is one year after a title run.
The Knicks took a different tack on draft day, trading out of the first round. Some criticized the notion of doing that when they might need a replacement for Mitchell Robinson or Landry Shamet, both unrestricted free agents, but the Knicks avoided the money that the No. 24 pick would have added to the cap, about $3.3 million in year one.
They then moved the No. 31 pick, the first pick of the second round, and dropped down to 37, where they could find a player who would help them continue to pare payroll.
Jack Kayil, who skipped out on a commitment to play for Gonzaga after another solid season overseas, and the 53rd pick, Tyler Nickel of Vanderbilt, are pieces that likely will require only a second-round minimum deal of about $1.35 million each.
The Knicks are working in the margins right now, and the issue is one that they will have to consider now and in the future.
Dolan’s refusal to hit the second apron in the 2026-27 season seems odd, because with the Knicks’ starting five in their prime, the belief that they can contend for a repeat title is real.
But for a repeater in the second apron, the penalties grow more onerous, and the starters could see their salaries jumping in the coming seasons with extensions in the near future for Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. Deuce McBride, if he’s not moved this summer, is due for a massive raise.
Kayil staying in the States
Kayil was asked at the start of his post-draft news conference Wednesday if there is a chance that he will return to Germany for another season, allowing the Knicks to avoid even the low-cost salary he would draw by being a draft-and-stash project.
“Not really,” he said. “I mean, my plans are to stay in here and get into the organization and keep growing with them . . . I wanted to play since Day One in the NBA. I had the opportunity, so [I] took it right away.”
It might seem odd for a team trying to save every dollar right now, but it is not without precedent from this front office.
Two years ago, when the Knicks selected Pacome Dadiet in the first round, the immediate thought was that he would remain overseas, but he immediately said he was coming to New York.
But the Knicks and Dadiet already had worked out an agreement that he would get the first-round deal, but only at about 80% of the salary slot for the 25th pick that season.
Summer sessions
The Knicks’ summer league schedule has arrived, and the San Antonio Spurs will be on the four-game slate — even if few, if any, of the players who were on the floor for the NBA Finals will be a part of it.
The Knicks — who beat San Antonio in five games to win the title — will open against the Nets on July 10 and face the Spurs the next day, finishing the regular schedule with the Pistons on July 13 and Golden State on July 16 before the tournament schedule begins.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
