The New York Knicks don’t have enough money to effectively fill out their roster, as they are only $3.72 million below the second apron, at which they are hard-capped. They will struggle to fill out their 13th and 14th roster spots, let alone the 15th, but that could mean trades are coming by the deadline.
“The Knicks are carrying just 12 players on standard contracts but also only have about $3.72MM in breathing room below their second-apron hard cap,” Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors wrote. “Not only does that mean New York won’t be able to carry a 15th man until much later in the season, but it also means the team won’t have the ability to sign more than one free agent to a minimum-salary contract ($2,296,274).”
New York could be forced to make some deals at the deadline if it wants to make any new additions to help them gun for a championship?
Why could Knicks make a trade?
On top of the situation Adams outlined in the first portion of his post, he also noted that New York’s 14th man would have to be someone they drafted, and they’d have to give that player a rookie minimum contract. They wouldn’t be able to sign a free agent, as it would cost more money. It has to be a player they already hold the draft rights of.
Some notable guys who fall under this category are James Nnaji, Hugo Besson, and Rokas Jokubaitis. Nnaji seems like the most likely of that bunch. Mohamed Diawara is another option, as the Knicks selected him in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft.
But perhaps most interestingly, the Knicks could make a trade that would allow them to add someone while still remaining under the second apron.
“There’s technically a way the Knicks could take a different route with that 14th roster spot, but it would require the team to shed some salary, either via trade or using the stretch provision (the latter will only be an option for a few more days),” Adams wrote. “The most obvious candidate for a cost-cutting trade might be 2024 first-rounder Pacome Dadiet, who didn’t get much run as a rookie and whose 2025/26 salary ($2,847,600) is above the minimum.”
The point is, the Knicks are in a bind from a financial perspective. There aren’t many ways of getting around the position they are in, but one of the options involves an active trade deadline.
So, keep an eye on the Knicks once the trade deadline rolls around.