The New York Knicks' 2026 NBA Championship should benefit the markets of every pending free agent on the roster. Unfortunately for both the team's front office and its fans, that list includes tantalizing rookie Mohamed Diawara. Head coach Mike Brown found himself leaning on the lanky rookie throughout the majority of his first year in the NBA, only pivoting away from Diawara once it was time to hunker down for the postseason.
Just one day ahead of the team's championship parade, though, James Dolan delivered a gut-punching reality check to fans listening to WFAN's The Carton Show. The governor told hosts Craig Carton and Chris McMonigle that the Knicks would have to be "suicidal" to voluntarily surpass the NBA salary cap's second apron, explaining that it was the single-biggest obstacle in running back the entirety of their title-winning roster.
The Knicks may have much more figured out than last year, but teams will be out to get the reigning champs. If they don't have their depth because they won't touch the second apron, they might be in for some real regression throughout the 2027 regular season.
Knicks are on the verge of giving themselves a championship hangover
"Championship hangovers" are a real thing in sports, with the NBA's crowning of its eighth consecutive new champion confirming it's incredibly difficult to go back to back. Brown and his Knicks were unafraid to lean on players like Diawara and Tyler Kolek throughout the regular season, even though neither played notable roles throughout the playoffs.
The pair of young players having considerable roles throughout the first 83 games of the season, and seeing those vanish when the stakes were as high as they could get, was the proof-flavored pudding that Brown values inning-eaters to help mitigate the grind of the league's regular season.
All the coach cares about is winning four consecutive series once the postseason begins. His methods were entirely vindicated by the Knicks' 2026 title, and it's hard to imagine New York undergoing any major shifts in philosophy ahead of the 2027 season. As a result, they'll need to ensure that their bench is similarly deep.
If the team can't afford to bring players like Diawara, Jordan Clarkson, and even Mitchell Robinson back under the second apron, that shifts focus directly onto the NBA Draft. The Knicks have the 24th and 31st overall picks, setting them up to bring in some cost-controlled talent. But this year's class saw plenty of guys return to college, with the NIL-era incentives of the NCAA proving stronger by the year.
New York may very well trade one, or both, of those picks as a means of filling out their roster affordably. The restriction of needing to stay under the second apron would add to the challenges they were already set to face. The team's braintrust was also vindicated, in all of their unusual efforts, by the golden trophy floating down the Canyon of Heroes on Thursday.
But even after turning a 21-win team into a Champion in just six seasons, and beating a 7-foot-5 center on the way there, their tallest task might still just be ahead of them.
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