Jalen Brunson left a ton of money on the table when he signed his four-year, $156.5 million extension. The New York Knicks are now spitting in the face of that concession by apparently refusing to enter the second apron.
Owner and resident party pooper James Dolan went on WFAN's The Carton Show, and said, well, a whole bunch of things. His most pressing comments concerned the Knicks’ proximity to the second apron, which they must enter if they want to keep the band together into next season.
“There's certain things in the NBA that you'd have to be suicidal to do,” Dolan said. “One of them is the second apron. Cannot go into the second apron. I'll write as big of a check as possible, but I can't write a check that goes into the second apron.”
Dolan isn’t wrong about his willingness to cut huge checks. He's also right that the second apron is about more than money. The team-building restrictions are beyond punitive.
At the same time, entering the second apron for a year or two is far from “suicidal.” It was, we thought, the entire reason why Brunson took a hometown discount.
The Knicks’ second-apron aversion makes no sense
Squads that enter the second apron cannot use the mid-level exception, aggregate salaries in trades, take back more money than they receive in deals, and among other penalties, will see their draft pick seven years into the future “frozen” out of all trades if they finish the season inside the second apron. In New York’s case, this means its 2034 draft pick would be immovable.
Avoiding the second apron will cost Mitchell Robinson at minimum. It will also likely cost some combination of Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado (player option), and Mohamed Diawara (restricted)—obliterating a huge chunk of the depth that helped New York win a title.
Traveling down that path to preserve access to the mini MLE is shameful. Robinson has his flaws, but the Knicks aren’t signing someone as talented as him for $6.1 million.
Living in fear of the draft repercussions is also insane. New York doesn’t have to worry about its 2034 draft pick getting frozen, because it isn’t movable until next summer anyway. The Knicks don’t have to worry about their draft pick getting moved to the end of the first round, either. That only happens if you finish above the threshold in three out of five years.
Entering the second apron for a season or two is, therefore, somewhat reasonable. Especially when you’re the defending champs.
Jalen Brunson deserves better than the Knicks’ apparent cowardice
There is some confusion over how much money JB actually left on the table. Conservatively speaking, after factoring in the player option at the end of his current deal, he sacrificed $37 million in earning potential over three years. That comes out to about $12.3 million per season.
The Knicks do not stay under the second apron this season without that gesture. Brunson essentially enabled them to house OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges while maintaining trade flexibility and access to the mini MLE.
Still, the idea wasn’t to indefinitely skirt the second apron. Initial reports suggested New York would cross the threshold this summer to re-sign Shamet and Robinson. Dolan’s comments run completely counter to that logic.
And if they prove accurate, the Knicks owe Brunson, a Finals MVP and their franchise savior, an apology for being craven cheapos.
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