storyteller
Superstar
Here's that Athletic piece I had mentioned before folks...
theathletic.com
Some of the new restrictive rules are being phased in, but here is a summary of them:
The NBA is adding a “second apron,” which will be $17.5 million above the luxury-tax threshold and will hurt high-payroll teams on the trade market.
The Knicks, as constructed, could make a hypothetical star trade using players whose salaries come within 125 percent of the salary they’re trading for — referred to as “matching salaries.” But during the 2023-24 season, which begins July 1, teams who are above the second apron can match salaries up to only 110 percent, according to league sources, making any sort of trade far more difficult.
New York, which is not in the tax, won’t have to deal with this. But more expensive teams could be wiped out of the conversation for a star, or even for just a regular old role player because they can’t make the money work.
The rules become even more restrictive once the 2023-24 regular season ends. From that point on, teams above the second apron cannot aggregate players in trades at all, meaning they can deal only one player at a time, and salary-matching rules become as prohibitive as possible. If two teams both above the first apron are making a trade, they can do the swap only with players who make identical salaries, down to the cent. Essentially, starting next summer, the only realistic way a team over either apron can make a trade is if it flips one player who signed a max, midlevel or minimum deal for another player who signed the same contract in the same season.
How often do we see trades like that?
If the Knicks trade for a star, whether it’s this summer or the next one, they will have to maneuver around these measures. If it’s a particularly expensive household name and they manage to hold onto Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett in the process, then they’re talking about the tax or maybe even the second apron, and that’s without considering new salaries for upcoming free agent Josh Hart or up-and-comers Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin, who could be included in a star trade but are also only one year away from free agency.
There was never a good time to part with lots of picks and young players for a star who does not work, but it’s possible, given the punitive tax rules, that it’s more harmful now than ever to give up the kitchen sink for the wrong star. If a team has a player who doesn’t fit and underperforms because of it, then that team has fewer ways to improve around him and could be stuck.
Teams above the second apron are restricted in how they can build out their rosters, too. They lose access to the taxpayer midlevel exception. Essentially, if a team is above the second apron, it can only sign players with minimum contracts or by using Bird rights, which allows organizations to exceed the salary cap to re-sign their players.
But the young players aren’t the only ones who could benefit. There’s also Hart, an anticipated free agent who isn’t guaranteed to become one, even if Hart returning to New York remains the most likely outcome this summer.
Hart has a unique contract structure: a $13 million player option for the 2023-24 season that becomes non-guaranteed if he picks it up. The assumption all along was that he would go into free agency since he’s worth more than $13 million. But with the new rules, he has another option.
Veterans can now extend for up to 140 percent of their previous season’s salary. That figure used to be 120 percent. It means leading into June 24, the deadline for Hart to pick up or decline his player option, he and the Knicks could negotiate a 2024-25 salary for up to $18.1 million (140 percent of $13 million). If both sides agreed, Hart could pick up the player option, the Knicks could guarantee it and he could then sign an extension, which would begin in 2024-25, worth up to about $81 million over four years.
The extension route would accomplish two things for New York.
First, it would keep Hart around for an extra season — five years instead of the max of four he’d get as a free agent. Second, it would keep his 2023-24 salary down, giving the team a little more financial flexibility in the upcoming season.
When a team is above the second apron at the end of the season, then “the frozen pick,” unquestionably the coolest new term to come out of this CBA, comes into play. Here’s what it means: If a team is above the second apron, then its first-round pick seven years into the future cannot be traded.
For example, if a team were above the second apron right now, then that means it can’t trade its 2030 first-rounder.
Since teams cannot go consecutive seasons without first-round picks and since they can trade first-rounders as far as only seven years into the future, this means ones above the second apron can deal as many as three of their first-rounders, while teams below the second apron can trade up to four of their own firsts.
This could give the Knicks another slight advantage on the trade market if they’re bidding against a second-apron team for a player they want.
How could NBA’s new CBA affect Knicks this summer and beyond?
How could NBA's new collective bargaining agreement affect Knicks this summer and beyond?
With the start of free agency only three weeks away, here are six ways the new CBA could affect New York.
theathletic.com
Matching salaries
All we hear about in Knicksland is the team’s chase for a star. Well, the team is in an even more advantageous position under the new CBA, which will make it more difficult for teams with expensive payrolls to deal not just for star players but for any players at all. Meanwhile, the Knicks are below the luxury-tax line and should remain in that territory for the 2023-24 season.Some of the new restrictive rules are being phased in, but here is a summary of them:
The NBA is adding a “second apron,” which will be $17.5 million above the luxury-tax threshold and will hurt high-payroll teams on the trade market.
The Knicks, as constructed, could make a hypothetical star trade using players whose salaries come within 125 percent of the salary they’re trading for — referred to as “matching salaries.” But during the 2023-24 season, which begins July 1, teams who are above the second apron can match salaries up to only 110 percent, according to league sources, making any sort of trade far more difficult.
New York, which is not in the tax, won’t have to deal with this. But more expensive teams could be wiped out of the conversation for a star, or even for just a regular old role player because they can’t make the money work.
The rules become even more restrictive once the 2023-24 regular season ends. From that point on, teams above the second apron cannot aggregate players in trades at all, meaning they can deal only one player at a time, and salary-matching rules become as prohibitive as possible. If two teams both above the first apron are making a trade, they can do the swap only with players who make identical salaries, down to the cent. Essentially, starting next summer, the only realistic way a team over either apron can make a trade is if it flips one player who signed a max, midlevel or minimum deal for another player who signed the same contract in the same season.
How often do we see trades like that?
If the Knicks trade for a star, whether it’s this summer or the next one, they will have to maneuver around these measures. If it’s a particularly expensive household name and they manage to hold onto Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett in the process, then they’re talking about the tax or maybe even the second apron, and that’s without considering new salaries for upcoming free agent Josh Hart or up-and-comers Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin, who could be included in a star trade but are also only one year away from free agency.
There was never a good time to part with lots of picks and young players for a star who does not work, but it’s possible, given the punitive tax rules, that it’s more harmful now than ever to give up the kitchen sink for the wrong star. If a team has a player who doesn’t fit and underperforms because of it, then that team has fewer ways to improve around him and could be stuck.
Teams above the second apron are restricted in how they can build out their rosters, too. They lose access to the taxpayer midlevel exception. Essentially, if a team is above the second apron, it can only sign players with minimum contracts or by using Bird rights, which allows organizations to exceed the salary cap to re-sign their players.
Player-friendly extension rules
Extensions for players coming off rookie contracts can now be five years for everyone — not just for designated top prospects, as was the case during the previous CBA — which means Quickley and Toppin will be eligible for five-year deals this summer. The extensions would kick in for the 2024-25 season. Next summer, Quentin Grimes would be eligible for a five-year extension, which would start for the 2025-26 season.But the young players aren’t the only ones who could benefit. There’s also Hart, an anticipated free agent who isn’t guaranteed to become one, even if Hart returning to New York remains the most likely outcome this summer.
Hart has a unique contract structure: a $13 million player option for the 2023-24 season that becomes non-guaranteed if he picks it up. The assumption all along was that he would go into free agency since he’s worth more than $13 million. But with the new rules, he has another option.
Veterans can now extend for up to 140 percent of their previous season’s salary. That figure used to be 120 percent. It means leading into June 24, the deadline for Hart to pick up or decline his player option, he and the Knicks could negotiate a 2024-25 salary for up to $18.1 million (140 percent of $13 million). If both sides agreed, Hart could pick up the player option, the Knicks could guarantee it and he could then sign an extension, which would begin in 2024-25, worth up to about $81 million over four years.
The extension route would accomplish two things for New York.
First, it would keep Hart around for an extra season — five years instead of the max of four he’d get as a free agent. Second, it would keep his 2023-24 salary down, giving the team a little more financial flexibility in the upcoming season.
The frozen pick
There is one more way the trade market could dampen if a star becomes available.When a team is above the second apron at the end of the season, then “the frozen pick,” unquestionably the coolest new term to come out of this CBA, comes into play. Here’s what it means: If a team is above the second apron, then its first-round pick seven years into the future cannot be traded.
For example, if a team were above the second apron right now, then that means it can’t trade its 2030 first-rounder.
Since teams cannot go consecutive seasons without first-round picks and since they can trade first-rounders as far as only seven years into the future, this means ones above the second apron can deal as many as three of their first-rounders, while teams below the second apron can trade up to four of their own firsts.
This could give the Knicks another slight advantage on the trade market if they’re bidding against a second-apron team for a player they want.
