The New York Knicks have spent the last nine months forging a championship roster and that came to a head on Friday night when they traded for All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. Now that they have all the pieces they could possibly want to capture the Larry O’Brien trophy next June, they’ll have to pay the cost to be the boss, which could fuel a potential dynasty or precipitate a colossal collapse.
The Knicks’ title-worthy roster will put them in salary cap hell for the foreseeable future
The Knicks are facing a salary cap whirlwind. OG Anunoby’s $36 million annual salary for 2024-25 will increase by $3 million every year until 2028-29, the final year of his current deal. After the Knicks reap the benefits of Jalen Brunson’s praise-worthy contractual discount on the front end, be it the $24.9 million he’ll take home next season and $34.9 million the following year, like Anunoby, he’ll see a $3M raise each season until he’s laid what he’s worth in 2028-29.
The third elephantine contractual situation the Knicks could be facing could be with Mikal Bridges. The talented two-way star will make a combined $48.2 million over the next two campaigns before his contract expires. If New York wants to keep him on board, which would make all the sense in the basketball world given all that he brings to a team, he could be in line for a large extension, or new deal when he hits unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2026.
Towns exacerbates the Knicks’ cap strap exponentially. The Kentucky product is one of the highest-paid players in the entire league. Towns will run the Knicks up for $49M, $53M, $57M, and a staggering $61M over the next five seasons.
The Mikal Bridges trade took draft assets away from the Knicks
To add to their financial equation, New York had to concede a whopping five first-round picks to trade for Bridges earlier in the offseason. While the price that Bridges came at was worth it on its face, the long-term implications that come with that trade-off, coupled with the long-term deals they have etched into their payroll, show that the Knicks will likely have to roll with the guys they have for a long time, through thick or thin.
The Knicks are well over the $140.58 million salary cap for next season with their $189M payroll, a figure that places them in the Second Apron Level. That won’t change any time soon as presently constructed.
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The Knicks’ talented roster makes their payroll worth it despite risks
Their talent level is up there with any team in the league. The Knicks will give the defending champion Boston Celtics problems in 2024-25, and now have a big man that can go blow-for-blow with Philadelphia 76ers former 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid on both ends. Other teams out East and across the league are now on high alert if they weren’t already.
Their health, however, creates some cause for concern, especially given the ailments that hampered Anunoby down the stretch of the previous campaign and threatened to take Brunson out on a couple of occasions, particularly the non-contact knee injury he sustained against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 3. Towns himself has missed 73 games over the last two seasons and has only seen north of 70 games once in the last four campaigns.
Ultimately, the Knicks could be looking at the foundation of a future dynasty. They were already being projected by many to win next season’s Larry O’Brien Trophy. Their upgraded roster, which is not even officially in its final form, could lead them to multiple titles over the next few years. But, if Knicks president Leon Rose’s chess moves put him in check for whatever reason, it’ll be hard to disband such a unit.
