In an NBA offseason full of high-profile players changing teams, the New York Knicks are focused on retaining their bench pieces after winning the 2026 title. They agreed to deals with forward Mohamed Diawara and guard Jose Alvarado before agreeing to a four-year, $24 million contract with guard Landry Shamet on Monday, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
However, center Mitchell Robinson remains on the open market after completing his four-year, $60 million deal this past season. The 28-year-old was the longest-tenured Knick on last season's roster and was 13th in the NBA with 8.8 rebounds per game over just 19.6 minutes, but it will be hard for the team to retain him while remaining under the second salary cap apron. Owner James Dolan doesn't want to go past that threshold, which makes it "unlikely" for the backup big man to return, per The New York Post's Stefan Bondy.
After signing Shamet, the Knicks must shed salary via trade to give Robinson a competitive offer while staying under the second apron, per SNY's' Ian Begley.
Knicks Could Trade Young Players
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New York is now $9 million under the second apron after the Shamet deal, per ESPN's Bobby Marks. Robinson's last contract had a $15 million average annual value (AAV), which nearly matches the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (MLE). The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakersare both interested in the seven-foot, 240-pounder, per The Stein Line.
The Knicks could trade guards Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet for a player making the rookie minimum salary, which is $1.35 million, per Spotrac. That would decrease the payroll by around $3.9 million, putting them nearly $13 million under the second apron. Kolek has played 103 games over two seasons, while Dadiet has played 47 in the same amount of campaigns.
From there, New York could offer Robinson a backloaded contract. For example, it could offer the Tennessee native a two-year, $30 million deal with a nearly $8 million salary for 2026-27.
The Knicks could then hand guard Jordan Clarkson a veteran minimum contract. The 34-year-old averaged 8.6 points on 45.1% shooting (32.7% 3-point) over 17.8 minutes (72 games) for New York last season, his first with the team.
EDIT: Additionally, the Knicks could sign second-round picks Jack Kayil (No. 39 overall) and Tyler Nickel (No. 47) to rookie minimum contracts to reach the required 14 rostered players. They could also use the second-round pick exception, which is worth the rookie minimum.
The second apron includes several team-building penalties, such as prohibiting trades of first-round picks from seven years out, per NBC Sports. At this point, Dolan has expressed that he wants to avoid that situation, even though New York might have to let Robinson walk. The organization is also interested in free-agent big man Kevon Looney, per Begley.
