Knicks Summer Primer

Let's look at where things stand before the madness begins.

Good morning! Another slow news day yesterday - which just mean the storm is coming - but James Edwards III did have a mailbag spotlighting some midlevel candidates who he thinks the Knicks should look at and who he’s heard “rumblings” about them considering. Most prominent among them is sharpshooter Luke Kennard, but he also mentioned Spencer Dinwiddie, Trey Lyles and Al Horford. He also “wouldn’t be shocked if the Knicks brought back Delon Wright and/or Landry Shamet.”

Speaking of the midlevel exception…

Knicks Summer Primer

With the Finals potentially ending tomorrow night and the Draft one week from tonight, we’re getting very close to silly season in the NBA. League observers have speculated for months that this transaction cycle could be among the busiest in history. That means we should all be on red alert.

Why are things likely to be so active? The simplest answer, as best as I can tell, is that the vast majority of the league feels like they’re at a crossroads. Orlando already made their move. Boston and Milwaukee are looking at gap years before they hopefully return to contender status. The Cavs are staring the second apron in the face and wondering if they truly have the goods. The Rockets and Pistons are trying to take that next step. Three of Minnesota’s top seven players have option decisions, all while they decide how “in” on KD they really want to be. Superstars on the Lakers (LeBron), Clippers (Harden), and Mavs (Kyrie) all hold player options as well. The Nuggets, sans a permanent GM, are trying to maximize the remaining prime of the game’s best player. The Spurs are weighing patience against propulsion. Philly has the third pick in the draft and a roster with two expensive, aging stars. The Nets are the only team with cap space. The Suns are about to execute (yet another) seismic trade. The Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga are at opposite ends of the most fascinating restricted free agency situation the league has seen in years. The Hawks and Pelicans are maybe in, maybe out on their respective faces of the franchise. Miami looms with picks and movable salaries. Toronto lurks. The Kings and Bulls exist, ostensibly to win basketball games. Who knows what’s up with the Grizzlies? Will the Blazers start trying to win? Will the Jazz, Hornets and Wizards keep trying to lose?

Oh, and the Oklahoma City Thunder - a win away from their first ever NBA title - still hold the largest war chest of picks in the NBA.

Amidst that cloud of chaos, it’s naive to think the Knicks are going to sit back and watch from the sidelines. As a reminder, there are only two players on the current roster - Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride - who were here on this date three years ago. Not a single one of the other 15 playoff teams has experienced this much turnover in that time span, especially at the top of their rotation. Recall that the last three summers featured:

• Kemba Walker, Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel going to Detroit to open up cap space for Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein

• Obi Toppin going to Indiana to create access to the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which was used to sign Donte DiVincenzo, and then of course…

• The roster overhaul that brought Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns to New York

A week out from the draft, we can be sure the Knicks will have their hand in something even if, as I’ve been writing, it’s unlikely they move any of their four highest salaried players. On that front, we’ll digest any news and rumors as they come up.

For today though, I want focus less on where the roster might be going and instead establish a baseline for where the Knicks are operating from. For any Cap Or No Cap fans out there, this will cover some of the same ground as Jeremy Cohen, but of course I’m taking my own approach.

Let’s begin by taking a look at what salary the Knicks already have on the books for the 2025-26 NBA season: