If the New York Knicks want to, they can swing a trade that lands them a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Related: They almost assuredly won't make that kind of deal, because it stands to hurt them in free agency.
Trading into the first round sounds like a great idea at its core. Playable depth was among the Knicks' biggest problems last season, and first-round picks on their rookie scales give expensive squads like New York the chance to scoop up rotation players making very little money.
Many will assume the decision to enter the first round isn't actually the Knicks' own. Or they will think it's an active choice made by the franchise after not yet hiring a new head coach. Neither is true.
Ideally, yes, New York would have a head coach in place if it's on the clock in the first round. You want that person's input on such moves. But it's not a caps-lock NEED. It'd be different if the Knicks were bagging a lottery pick. Unless they are jettisoning one of their three or four best players, they're not securing a selection that high.
Cobbling together the assets to acquire a first-round pick is more of an issue. It is not, however, insurmountable. While New York doesn't have any outright first-round picks it can trade, they can dangle swaps in 2026, 2030 and 2032.
The latter two years, in particular, will be appealing to teams who have plenty of immediate first-rounders, and are looking to convert some of them into higher-upside assets. The Knicks are contenders in the moment, but windows open and shut fast in today's NBA. There's no telling where they'll land on the draft board five and seven years from now.
What's actually stopping New York from landing a 2025 first-round pick is the same thing that will define their overarching offseason activity: money.
Knicks can't afford to pay a first-round pick's salary
For most teams, drafting a first-round prospect helps them get cheaper. The Knicks aren’t most teams.
If they want to access the full mini mid-level exception of $5.7 million, they must stay under the second apron, which checks in at $207.8 million. As of now, assuming they decline P.J. Tucker’s team option while hanging onto Ariel Huckporti, the Knicks have $196.3 million committed to 10 players. Add in the mini MLE, and that gets them to roughly $202 million for 11 players—about $5.8 million below the second apron.
HOWEVER!
Teams must carry at least 14 players on the roster during the regular season. If we pencil in the Knicks for two minimum deals for names with two or more years of experience, that brings their cap sheet to $206.6 million for 13 players, leaving them around $1.2 million under the second apron.
Filling that final spot with a first-rounder is impossible. The No. 30 pick will have the cheapest salary of the draft class, and they will make anywhere between $2.3 to $2.7 million—which would vault New York past the second apron.
The Knicks have workarounds, but only if they lower their free-agency hopes
There are things the Knicks can do to squeeze a first-round pick's salary onto their cap sheet. None of them are particularly appealing.
Filling out final roster spots with players who have zero years of experience is cheaper than signing veteran minimums, but it also shrinks the rotation. New York could use only a portion of the $5.7 million mini MLE to keep salary down, but that only weakens its sales pitch to free agents.
Barring a trade that sees them move one or more of their current players for cheaper names, the Knicks almost certainly won’t trade into the first round of the 2025 NBA draft. And if they do, it’s probably a sign that bigger changes are right around the corner.