The Knicks find themselves in an interesting cap situation this summer as they mull a possible run at Anthony Davis, as well as the pursuit of multiple elite free agents. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv explains, it’s possible for New York to sign a pair of star free agents and then acquire Davis by sending out just enough salary to match his cap figure. However, matching salaries in that scenario could be complicated by Davis’ trade bonus and by which players the Knicks have at their disposal to move.
While it may seem counter-intuitive, the Knicks’ flexibility could actually increase if they exercise some combination of options on players like Allonzo Trier, John Jenkins, Henry Ellenson, and Billy Garrett. Picking up some of those options could still leave New York with two max slots, and would give the team additional salaries to send out for matching purposes in a Davis offer.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- If the Sixers re-sign both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris to lucrative long-term deals and also make a maximum-salary commitment to Ben Simmons, they won’t necessarily be a taxpayer in 2019/20, but it’d be virtually impossible to avoid the tax in future seasons, Derek Bodner of The Athletic writes in an in-depth cap breakdown.
- With Tobias Harris’ list of suitors continuing to grow, Net Income of NetsDaily explores whether it would be worth it for the Nets to offer the free agent forward a maximum-salary contract.
- Performances like the one Kawhi Leonard turned in on Thursday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals were what Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri envisioned when he pulled the trigger on the Leonard blockbuster with San Antonio last July, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.
- Kansas guard Devon Dotson was among the draft-eligible prospects to work out for the Celtics on Thursday, tweets Sean Deveney of Sporting News. According to Deveney, Dotson is still mulling the possibility of returning to the Jayhawks and will make his decision next week before the NCAA’s May 29 withdrawal deadline.
kemba to nyc, jimmy to lakers, kawhi to clippers, harris in philly, gasol in raps, durant somewhere else, kyrie and AD to boston
I feel sorry for the team thats going to give Tobias Harris the max. Ouch.
That’s most of today’s NBA contracts lol
That’s a lot for a fourth option! He will never be able to generate stats in Philly that make him look worth it. He doesn’t have great analytics now. I don’t recall that a team has built around him. But he hasn’t won a ‘ship yet and Philly is as good a bet as any for that, plus of course the more-money more-money
The Knicks’ situation (balancing cap space and trade able contracts) is also complicated by the fact their FO is headed by Steve Mills (the architect of the THJ and R.Baker FA coup in 2017). Knicks did these guys (except possibly Ellenson) as team options (vs a NG salary); which means they’ll have to decide which options to exercise without actually knowing the final salary cap numbers. Unless they trade Frank on draft night (and don’t take back a similar contract), I’m guessing they’ll exercise only Trier.
Davis does have a trade kicker, but the guy’s demanding a trade. Griffin will likely make this simple for him, but – if he doesn’t – any rational trading partner will.
Is it possible that the Pelicans and AD agree to get rid of the trade bonus, if it helps facilitate AD to a team he wants to go to??
Is that even an option, or is there a rule in the current CBA that doesn’t allow such a thing??
It’s certainly an interesting minor point of any potential AD trade, but one that could possibly impact any trade…
Yep, it can be waived (in part or in full) if the player chooses to.
That’s definitely interesting, thank you for that Luke.
If that’s the case, then I’m sure AD would be willing to waive it, if it becomes an issue when the time comes..
By the way, out of the trio of Rumors’ sites, MLBTR, PFR, & HR, I want to thank you, Luke Adams, for being one of the few writers that actually takes the time to answer legitimate questions in the comments section..It definitely doesn’t go overlooked, and is truly, greatly appreciated.
That’s great to hear, thanks. I enjoy discussing the NBA’s cap- and CBA-related minutiae, so I’m always keeping an eye on the comments to help out when I can.