New York carries $220.4M in salary, above the first apron of $209.0M and just under the second at $221.7M. Five contracts eat most of it, two first-round picks belong to Brooklyn, and the exits are narrow.
Squeezed Tight
The cap is $165.0M. The tax line is $200.4M. The first apron is $209.0M and the second is $221.7M. New York sits at $220.4M, past three of those lines and one step from the fourth. Dalton Knecht joined Sunday at $4.2M this season, and every dollar added now matters. This is a title team paying title prices, and it is 0-2.
Five Big Checks
Karl-Anthony Towns makes $57.1M. OG Anunoby gets $42.5M, Jalen Brunson $37.7M, Mikal Bridges $33.5M and Josh Hart $20.9M. That is the whole engine. Everyone else on the sheet is at $5.4M or less, led by Landry Shamet, then Jose Alvarado at $4.5M and Miles McBride at $4.0M. Depth here is cheap by design, and the injuries and early losses show how thin it runs.
Next Year's Math
Nothing comes off. Towns climbs to $61.0M in 2027-28 with a player option attached, Anunoby to $45.4M, Brunson to $40.5M, Bridges to $36.2M and Hart to $22.4M. Shamet, Pacome Dadiet, Alvarado and Mohamed Diawara stay on the sheet. Tyler Kolek's $2.5M is a team option. McBride, Wiseman, Clarkson and Drummond do not appear on next year's sheet. The raises alone will push this bill higher. Towns paused extension talks and said he was very disappointed. That fight sits on top of the biggest number.
Picks Gone
The 2027 and 2029 first-rounders belong to Brooklyn. The 2028 first is a swap, and the 2030 first is the only clean one New York holds. In the second round, the 2028 pick is owed to Detroit and the 2030 pick to Atlanta. The 2027 second is its own, and the 2029 second is a swap. There is little here to sweeten a trade, and a team over the apron has few other tools.
Bottom Line
This front office built a champion and paid for it. Now the room to fix a slow start is almost gone. Mike Brown has to solve the early problems with the roster he has, because the books offer no help. Win games, or the price of this group starts to look like a mistake.
What is the Knicks' payroll in 2026-27?
It is $220.4M, above the first apron of $209.0M and below the second apron of $221.7M. The luxury tax line is $200.4M.
Do the Knicks own their first-round picks?
Not most of them. The 2027 and 2029 firsts are owed to Brooklyn, the 2028 first is a swap, and the 2030 first is their own.
