The reigning-champion New York Knicks are one of 29 teams refusing to surpass the NBA salary cap's second apron. They lost center Mitchell Robinson as a result. Even after signing Andre Drummond to replace him, the Philadelphia 76ers' decision to offer Ariel Hukporti a full $1 million more than the minimum priced New York out of his market, too.
The result, almost three months after the start of free agency and two days into training camp, is a Knicks group without a third-string center in place. Just like last offseason, New York signed several veterans to training camp deals for a battle to determine the end of Mike Brown's bench. On Wednesday, the mutual decision with John Konchar to part ways cleared room for 28-year-old free agent center Tony Bradley, who had been linked to the Knicks by SNY's Ian Begley and will compete against Drew Eubanks and James Wiseman in camp.
Especially after their decisions to sign Kevin McCullar Jr., rookie Tyler Nickel, and former Motor City Cruise guard Jaden Akins with their two-way slots, it seems like Bruce Brown and Ochai Agbaji are on the outside looking in — unless, of course, the Knicks make a trade.
Knicks can't make room easily if there's no market for Pacôme Dadiet
As things stand, New York has one spot left for a standard contract. It would have to be for the veteran's minimum, given the mandate from governorship not to surpass the second apron, leaving the team with an effectively unusable 15th roster spot.
The Knicks, even after swapping Konchar for Bradley, have five veterans ready to prove their worth. They also have a glaring need at the center position, and fewer options than they've had all offseason to address it.
If New York winds up feeling they simply can't let go of two of Eubanks, Wiseman, and Bradley, or that Brown or Agbaji would be integral to their repeat efforts, they wouldn't have the space. As a result, incoming junior Pacôme Dadiet's name has once again been brought up in trade rumors. It's hard to imagine another route to cap space for that hypothetical second veteran other than salary dumping someone like the 21-year-old Frenchman.
There's reportedly little interest in Dadiet on the trade market, though, which could also be influenced by teams' knowledge that the Knicks are up to something — and have struck gold with these training camp battles in the past. That could force the Knicks to surrender some sort of winning advantage, whether in the form of the valuable veteran or the draft capital necessary to entice a rival to take on a young player.
The second apron is applying pressure to roster-building efforts across the NBA. The reigning champions are clearly no exception. And while Rose's front office is the exact group fans can rely on to figure something out, regardless of the circumstances, it's understandable those same fans feel some frustration about the team's refusal to go over the second apron in the wake of a magical title run.
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