The New York City Department of Sanitation has cleared lower Manhattan of the last remnants of Thursday's championship parade, leaving Knicks fans to turn their attention to an uncertain offseason.
The Knicks became the NBA's first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. When the league calendar turns over on July 1, starters Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns will all still be under contract for the 2026-27 season.
The bench is less certain, and so is Towns' long-term future with the team. ESPN's Vincent Goodwill said Friday that the Knicks had the chance to extend Towns at the start of the season and did not, and that the decision stuck with him. Goodwill said he does not think Towns has gotten over it and that he is curious to see how the situation plays out. The Daily Mail has sought comment from Towns' agent about Goodwill's reporting.
Towns, 30, is signed through next season for $57 million and holds a $61 million player option for 2027-28, when he could become a free agent. Complicating his situation is owner James Dolan's reluctance to pay steep luxury taxes to keep the roster intact.
Dolan on the salary cap
Dolan said on WFAN radio in New York this week that the Knicks cannot go into the second apron, signaling he wants the team's payroll to stay below $222 million for next season.
The NBA's soft salary cap is set at $165 million for next season and allows several exceptions. Teams that exceed the cap and pass a $201 million luxury tax threshold can face further penalties for spending above $209 million, known as the first apron, or $222 million, the second apron. Only a handful of teams have ever crossed into the second apron, which restricts both free-agent signings and trades. The league also imposes a "repeater" tax on teams that stay above the luxury tax threshold in consecutive seasons.
Those rules could hamper the Knicks' efforts to re-sign free-agent reserves Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson, along with New York native Jose Alvarado, who has until Monday to decide on his $4.5 million player option for 2026-27.
Asked whether he could keep the team together, Dolan told WFAN he did not know. He said the Knicks are willing to stretch financially but that there are certain things in the NBA you would have to be suicidal to do, and that going into the second apron is one of them.
Brunson's discount and a possible model
Brunson's decision to sign for $113 million less than a full max contract extension in 2024 helped the Knicks end a 53-year title drought with their Game 5 win in San Antonio on Saturday.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst said the Knicks may need Towns and other core players to accept similar team-friendly deals to stay together. Windhorst said that if Towns is willing to take a pay cut of $7 million to $10 million over multiple seasons, and Josh Hart, who is extension eligible this summer, is willing to do the same, the team's core could stay together for three, four or five years.
Draft picks and coaching stability
Knicks president Leon Rose, a former player agent, may have an advantage: Towns is represented by CAA, Rose's longtime employer. Rose also has three draft picks this month, one first-round and two second-round selections, which could help fill out the bench if Robinson, Shamet, Clarkson or Alvarado leave in free agency.
The Knicks enter next season with coaching stability under Mike Brown, who has a reported three years remaining on his contract. Brown took over a year after the team's controversial dismissal of his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau.
