It is no secret that the New York Knicks are looking to move Guerschon Yabusele. Marc Stein recently confirmed as much in his latest news dispatch for The Stein Line. For the most part, New York’s interest in dealing the big man is perceived as an attempt to upgrade this season’s rotation. And in some ways, that’s exactly what these murmurings point toward.
At the same time, trying to get off Yabusele is also about next season.
More specifically, it’s about keeping Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks could be looking to stay out of the second apron and re-sign Mitchell Robinson
New York currently projects to have $16.3 million in room beneath the second apron this summer. Yet, that flexibility is with just nine players on the books. And Robinson isn’t one of them.
Re-signing him could feasibly eat up all that space before filling out the rest of the roster. Even if he accepts a salary identical to his $13 million this season, the Knicks have no chance of remaining below the second apron.
This changes if they can get off Yabusele’s contract. He has a $5.8 million player option for next year that he’s guaranteed to exercise. Chop that off the books, and New York is $22.1 million away from the second apron…with just eight players on the books.
Add in the hold for the Knicks’ first-round pick, and they’re $19.1 million below the second apron for nine names. If we assume they want to carry 14 total players using experienced veterans, we have to pencil in four holds worth nearly $3 million apiece. Once we do that, the Knicks would have just $7.2 million in wiggle room below the second apron. That’s before re-signing Robinson.
News flash: Robinson isn’t taking that much of a pay cut. Even with his availability forever in question, he’s almost assuredly looking at eight figures per year.
The Knicks can inch closer to that range if they dump Pacome Dadiet, and replace him with a rookie minimum. If they sub out two veteran minimums for another two rookie minimums, they'll have around $11.5 million to play around with before crossing into the second apron. That may still not get Robinson to bite, but if they’re offering a guaranteed deal across multiple years, it could be a conversation.
Why the Knicks may want to steer clear of the second apron again
New York always has the option of just keeping Robinson, and going into the second apron for a core it believes is a title contender. Its appetite for doing so will almost assuredly depend on how the postseason plays out—and, of course, whether Robinson is still on the team past the deadline.
Regardless of how the playoffs go, though, the Knicks might attempt to skirt the second apron next year anyway. The core is only going to get more expensive, particularly with Deuce McBride nearing his own windfall ahead of the 2027-28 season. Sidestepping the second apron delays the heavily punitive roster-rebuilding restrictions for another year.
Among those restrictions: not being able to aggregate salaries as part of any trade. This would ostensibly take them out of the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes we’ll probably get over the summer, as well as the pursuit of any other impactful names who catch the front office’s eye.
That might just be the cost of doing business with this core. At the very least, though, Leon Rose and crew may look limit the extent to which they enter the second apron, in case they need to get out of it as part of tantalizing opportunity.
Maintaining that optionality begins at this trade deadline, with how the Knicks handle Yabusele and Dadiet—and maybe even Robinson himself, too.