New York Knicks owner James Dolan told WFAN radio that he will not take the Knicks into the NBA's second apron to keep the roster together for the 2026-27 season, ESPN reported.
ESPN's Vincent Goodwill reported the comments on June 18, 2026, with Dolan saying the Knicks cannot enter the punitive spending tier even after the franchise's first NBA title in 53 years. The decision point is not whether Dolan is willing to pay tax; it is whether New York accepts the roster-building restrictions that come with that line.
Dolan Draws Line On Second Apron
ESPN reported, citing Bobby Marks, that the Knicks are projected to be $13 million below the second apron this summer. The same report said New York was only $200,000 under the threshold this past season.
The practical stakes are immediate. Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet are free agents, while Jose Alvarado has until Monday to decide on a $4.5 million player option for next season. New York's starting five is under contract, but the front office still has to manage the rest of the rotation.
Karl-Anthony Towns is another part of the picture. ESPN reported that the Knicks and Towns did not reach a contract extension before the 2025-26 season and can return to talks this summer after he helped drive New York's 13-game playoff winning streak.
Roster Rules Shape Knicks Summer
The second apron matters because it limits several team-building tools. ESPN noted that teams over the line cannot send cash in trades, use the $6.1 million tax midlevel exception, aggregate salaries in a trade, use more than 100% of a traded player exception or freely trade a first-round pick seven years out.
ESPN also reported that Cleveland was the only team above the threshold this past season, while Cleveland, Boston, Phoenix and Minnesota have crossed it since the current collective bargaining agreement introduced the second apron in 2023.
Dolan said personnel decisions will remain with Knicks president Leon Rose, according to ESPN. That leaves New York with a narrow but clear summer brief: keep enough of a title roster intact without crossing the line Dolan has publicly ruled out.