New York Knicks

The defending champions ran it back under James Dolan's second-apron edict: re-signed Landry Shamet (4yr/$24M, Early Bird), Jose Alvarado (3yr/$14.4M, Bird), RFA Mohamed Diawara (4yr/$11.3M, Non-Bird) and title-run sixth man Jordan Clarkson on a vet minimum, then addressed the biggest structural weakness by adding Andre Drummond (1yr min) behind Karl-Anthony Towns. Lost Mitchell Robinson to Boston, Ariel Hukporti to Philadelphia and Jeremy Sochan to Portland, but the core of Brunson, Towns, Bridges, Anunoby and Hart is fully intact. At $218.4M across 13 guaranteed deals New York is $9.4M over the first apron yet $3.3M under the second, so the 14th spot comes down to the non-guaranteed camp battle among Bruce Brown, Ochai Agbaji, James Wiseman and John Konchar — champions don't need flexibility, they need health and continuity.

2026-27 figures verified against Spotrac and HoopsRumors reporting. View full cap sheet on the Salary Cap page.