New York Knicks Offseason Guide: Cap Space, Draft Preview

Knicks Offseason: Salary Cap Overview

The Knicks enter this unprecedented offseason with the ability to create over $42 million in cap space to sign free agents or make trades to absorb large contracts with sweeteners attached.

With the cap remaining flat at $109 million due to the coronavirus pandemic, most teams will be tightening their belts in prep of a season that will start as it’s still unclear how many fans can return to arenas and when.

The Knicks can use their financial strength under James Dolan to help other organizations trying to stay below the tax or who need to move an expensive contract off their books at cost.

In order to create cap space, the Knicks first need to decide what to do with a host of team options and non-guaranteed contracts. It is expected that Reggie Bullock will return at $4.2 million, but otherwise, everyone else is a candidate to be let go.

If the Knicks waive all of their non-guaranteed players except Bullock, they will carry $3 million in dead cap weight this season, on top of the $6.4 million they still owe on Noah’s stretched contract (which they will pay for one more season after this one before it is done).

The Knicks will have until Thursday, November 19 to decide on the futures of Bobby Portis and Theo Pinson’s team options, as well as whether they want to guarantee any of Bullock, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, or Elfrid Payton’s contracts.

Both Portis and Gibson are players that have been mentioned as possibilities to be waived and re-signed at a much cheaper rate.

It is unclear what the team plans to do with restricted free agent Damyean Dotson.

Free agency officially begins on Friday, November 20 at 6:00 PM EST.

And there you have it! I tried to keep it short and sweet, while packing in as much information as possible, but now you have the background info, you are ready for a busy week of Knicks transactions.