The New York Knicks rewarded fans for an up-to-53-year wait by taking the 2026 NBA Championship from the San Antonio Spurs in just five games. It didn't take long, though, for those same fans to rediscover the unfortunately-familiar feeling of a hefty helping of cold water quelling their celebrations.
Team governor James Dolan took to WFAN's airwaves to present any contract that would surpass the salary cap's second apron as "basketball suicide," given the inseparably costly penalties associated with a qualifying payroll. It presumably led to the Knicks' offseason loss of Mitchell Robinson, previously their longest-tenured player — and arguably their best reserve throughout the 2025-26 regular season.
The Knicks added Andre Drummond in free agency to replace Robinson, particularly in the offensive rebounding department. But they were always going to be hard-pressed to find a truly suitable successor. New York's best hope may genuinely be that the second apron seems to have scared off the rest of the NBA, too; the Denver Nuggets are the only team that projects to start the year above it.
Knicks banking on NBA-wide parity despite East's improvements
The Knicks are far from the only team feeling the effects of the second apron. While it certainly hurt to watch Robinson join a longtime rival, the reigning champions' fans weren't the only ones grieving. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who also have some recently-acquired hardware to fall back on, dealt three of their most important role players to young and hungry teams this offseason.
Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins both went to the Atlanta Hawks, the only team to beat New York more than once in the same 2026 playoff series, as they look to improve their defense. And Isaiah Joe will go from spacing the floor for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Cade Cunningham, as he joins the Detroit Pistons — and his old teammates in the Eastern Conference.
Nobody should expect Drummond to be better than Robinson, even though he's likely to play more games. The Knicks got worse on paper. But that doesn't take them out of the conversation as title contenders.
The Philadelphia 76ers will struggle to defend and rebound the ball, even with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. The Boston Celtics may struggle to score it without the latter of those two. The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't necessarily make any improvements. Neither did the Pistons, who lost Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart while adding John Collins and a trio of 3-point threats in Joe, Taurean Prince, and Gary Harris.
The Eastern Conference was already the better of the two last season, and it's only getting better. The talent, however, is spread out among several contenders — not bunched up on a select few.
Russell Westbrook's agent blames second apron for early retirement
After the Los Angeles Lakers sold on Wednesday for a record in North American sports, Excel Basketball CEO Jeff Schwartz used his company account to share a message about the CBA on Twitter.
"Incredible, the Lakers sell for $12B, yet teams won't spend on older vets because of current CBA rules. Thank you, Union," the agent said — on the same day he wished longtime client Russell Westbrook farewell.
The 37-year-old point guard called it a career just hours later, providing some additional context to Schwartz's pointed message. ESPN's Shams Charania said the guard had offers from the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards — but declined both in favor of simply hanging them up.
The Knicks reportedly had some interest in Westbrook last offseason, but definitely need to address their lack of center depth with their "final" roster spot. Regardless, the guard's seemingly-early retirement is evidence that the parity brought on by the second apron isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Even fan favorites are liable to get the proverbial boot.
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