New York's payroll runs $217.9M, above the top tax threshold and past the $200.4M luxury-tax line, with Towns, Anunoby, Brunson and Bridges carrying the four biggest contracts. The roster that won it all in June is still intact, with only Dillon Jones moving out on September 8 and Liam Robbins cut loose from camp this week.
The Bill
Winning changes the math. Towns makes $57.1M this season, Anunoby $42.5M, Brunson $37.7M and Bridges $33.5M — four deals that alone push New York's payroll to $217.9M, well past the $200.4M luxury-tax line. Josh Hart's $20.9M rounds out the top five. That's the cost of keeping a champion whole.
No Fixes Coming
New York also sits close to the NBA's hardest spending limit, set at $221.7M. Cross that line in-season and the moves teams normally make — trading for depth, absorbing a bigger salary — are simply off the table. Management built this roster over the summer, because past this point there's almost no room to maneuver.
Picks Gone
The price shows up in the draft too. New York owes Brooklyn its 2027 and 2029 first-rounders outright, plus pick swaps in 2028 and 2029. Detroit gets a 2028 second, Atlanta a 2030 second. Only the 2027 second and the 2030 first stay fully New York's. Every rough patch this season helps a division rival more than it hurts New York.
Held Together
For now, ownership chose continuity over caution. Brunson, Towns, Anunoby and Bridges all return, and the one subtraction of consequence was Dillon Jones, moved on September 8. Josh Hart told the New York Post the group is "ready to get to work" on defending the banner. That's a vote for staying the course.
Bottom Line
Can this exact roster survive intact through a title defense? Yes, for now — nobody essential got moved this summer, and the tax bill got paid instead of ducked. But with a hard cap overhead and Brooklyn holding two future first-rounders, the real test comes if this season goes sideways. There will be no trade rescue. This roster has to be enough.
Are the Knicks over the luxury tax this season?
Yes. New York's payroll runs $217.9M, above the $200.4M luxury-tax line and close to the NBA's $221.7M spending ceiling.
How many first-round picks do the Knicks control?
New York owes Brooklyn its 2027 and 2029 first-rounders and has pick swaps in 2028 and 2029. Only the 2030 first-rounder is fully its own.
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