A reduction of the cap could help the Knicks. But it is unclear how or if it will do so at this point.
Everyone expects a reduction of the limit for the next season, but it is not known how much the limit will decrease and how the NBA and NBPA will approach.
If the NBA’s revenue drops significantly due to the coronavirus, the league and players could agree on a “leveling”, which, as Bobby Marks of ESPN explains, would allow the hat to suffer fewer hits than it would be under current CBA rules.
622/5000But until we know how the league and the association of players will manage the drop in revenue, it is difficult to know how, in particular, the situation can benefit the Knicks.
One scenario that could help New York is a reduction in both the salary cap and the luxury tax, as Marks told the New York Post. This could force multiple teams to try to pay their wages in order to avoid paying the luxury tax.
At the current wage cap projections ($ 115 million), the Knicks are one of three teams that plan to have more than $ 30 million in the limit space.
The Knicks cap space largely depends on what they do with the contract options for the coming season. The group of players who have options for next season includes Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton and Wayne Ellington.
Depending on what they decide to do with players who have contract options and their current free agents, the Knicks can have around $ 60 million in limit space this summer.
This type of space would give New York considerable flexibility if the limit and fiscal line were to decrease.
The uncertain future of the limit could also make it more likely for free agents with player options on their contracts, such as Anthony Davis of Los Angeles, to accept their offers. If this happens, it means that more players will be free in the summer of 2021, when the Knicks may again have significant room for the limit.
It could be argued that an increase in free agents in the 2021 class helps the Knicks because the probability of getting one of the desired free agents that summer increases.