What many have suspected or declared all along is officially, irrevocably true: The New York Knicks are not going to keep both Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet if they continue down their current path of second-apron aversion.
We have danced around, danced around, even predicted, as much in this very space. But their ability to re-sign Mohamed Diawara at a core-preserving price point, coupled with the front office trading out of the first round, has invited a fair, if slightly overzealous, question: Are the Knicks attempting to re-sign both Robinson and Shamet without going into the second apron?
Ian Begley of SNY presented this very sentiment to the Third Apron’s Yossi Gozlan during the latest episode of The Putback. The salary-cap expert’s answer in a nutshell: It isn’t happening.
The Knicks would need Shamet and Robinson to take unfathomable discounts
If we assume Diawara’s contract pays him around the minimum and Jose Alvarado picks up his $4.5 million option, the Knicks have $207.7 million on their books. That number represents a commitment to 10 players, which is four shy of the regular-season minimum.
Since the goal is to keep both Shamet and Robinson, New York needs to fill at least two more roster spots. For maximum flexibility’s sake, let’s say they do what they did with Diawara last season, and add two names at the rookie minimum.
Those deals would total $2.7 million, bringing the Knicks’ 12-player cap sheet to roughly $210.4 million. That’s $11.6 million below the second apron, and what New York would have to pay both Shamet and Robinson,
This isn’t happening. Even if Shamet inexplicably returns on another minimum contract that counts against the books for $2.5 million, this would necessitate Robinsons-signing at a starting salary between $8 million and $9 million next season. That is $4 million to $5 million less than he made last year, and more importantly, likely way below what other squads are willing to pay him.
One of Shamet or Robinson is gone…at least
To anyone romantic enough that they see Shamet and Robinson following Jalen Brunson’s lead and making a big-time sacrifice, just know that I respect your optimism. But neither player has enjoyed the kind of payday that invites the same thinking. They also aren’t guaranteed to have the same earning potential as Brunson after his current contract.
And in the event Robinson and Shamet are willing to split under $12 million between them, you better believe the league will investigate New York for salary-cap shenanigans.
These latest projections confirm the Knicks are essentially facing a binary proposition: Either they cross the second apron to keep a championship core intact, or they let at least one of Robinson and Shamet walk in free agency.
Add us as a preferred source on Google