Breaking down the NBAs second apron and the Knicks headache that comes with it
On Friday, the Knicks announced the tabling of all extension talks until after the season begins, putting aside the pressing issue of possible new deals for star players including Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart.One of the biggest obstacles in running back the same team that ended the Knicks’ 53-year championship drought over the summer is avoiding the severe penalties that come with exceeding the NBA’s salary cap.The Knicks and the Cavaliers are the lone teams in the first apron, which alone carries some restrictions.A team with a payroll above first apron, which in 2026-27 sits at just over $209 million, can only acquire players via sign-and-trade if they move them below the apron.It also must match salaries within 110% of the outgoing salary as compared to the usual 125%, and cannot sign any waived players during the regular season if that salary surpasses the midlevel exception.The second apron sits at around $221.6 million for this season, and the limitations get more strict, impeding a team’s ability to make trades, sign big-name free agents and select the most desirable players in the first round of the draft.Per the NBA’s CBA, should a team hit the second apron:• It will not be permitted to combine the contracts of multiple outgoing players to match the salary of a player they’re trading for.
• It will lose their right to the midlevel exception that allows over-the-cap teams to still sign free agent players.• Its future first-round draft pick will be frozen and thus cannot be traded, and there will be no cash considerations in their trades.
That future frozen first-round selection will also automatically drop to the end of the first round, regardless of season performance, if the second apron is exceeded in two out of four seasons.To put it simply, surpassing the second apron makes it extremely difficult for a team to build on its success and develop sustainable superteams, which certainly helps the league with parity, but doesn’t make p...