The NBA salary cap has leveled the playing field for small-market teams to compete with the major cities in the league in terms of player salaries. Madison Square Garden can sell out every night – remember when fans could watch games – and celebrities can pay astronomical prices to sit on the sidelines, but none of these added gains help the Knicks in their ability to spend their opponents on the talent on the pitch.
Where the Knicks can show their great market strength is off the pitch. There is no salary cap on the payment of coaches and managers. We saw owner James Dolan’s willingness to break down costly mistakes from Phil Jackson to the most recent David Fizdale.
If the Knicks overpay for a manager, it’s not like Joakim Noah, they’re not stuck with a cap hit for several seasons that prevents them from hiring future talent.
Despite several costly mistakes in hiring managers and managers, and despite a global pandemic that will keep MSG in the dark for the foreseeable future, Dolan continues to invest in his basketball team, which, say what you want from the beleaguered owner, is a positive news.
Fizdale will receive the remainder of his $ 22 million contract over the next three years. Meanwhile, recently hired coach Tom Thibodeau would sign up for a similar amount in five years.
Kenny Payne quits a job in Kentucky where he was paid $ 900,000 as John Calipari’s assistant. Obviously, in order to leave a position where he was comfortable, successful and well paid, the Knicks must have made a competitive offer for him to move to New York. Despite the current economic climate, the Knicks are still investing in building a competitive basketball team.