The parade was still going when the hard part started.
Jalen Brunson gave Knicks fans what they wanted Thursday on the Canyon of Heroes. “There are a lot of people who have a lot of negative stuff to say,” he told the crowd. “But when you prove them wrong, you really don’t have to say s**t to them.” Two million people roared. Fifty-three years of waiting ended with a shrug and a grin.
Then James Dolan clarified what summer looks like.
The Knicks owner appeared on WFAN Wednesday and drew a line New York will work within this offseason. “I cannot go into the second apron,” Dolan said. “I’ll write as big a check as possible, but I can’t write a check that goes into the second apron.”
What the apron actually means
The second apron is the league’s harshest spending threshold. Teams above it lose the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, can’t trade for players making more than their replacements, and face draft-pick restrictions. New York enters free agency $13 million below that ceiling. That sounds manageable until you run through the names.
Mitchell Robinson is a free agent. Landry Shamet is a free agent. The Knicks need bench depth. Every signing chips away at the buffer Dolan says is non-negotiable. The championship roster, as currently built, may look different when training camp opens in September.
Who Brunson was talking to
Brunson led all postseason scorers this year with 28.4 points per game. His critics were specific, even if he didn’t name them from that float.
Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon said in a 2023 ESPN segment that Brunson wasn’t capable of leading a team to a championship. Stephen A. Smith, a Knicks fan, said after New York signed him in 2022 that “Jalen Brunson isn’t the answer.” Both quotes have been replayed on loop since Thursday. Neither has aged well.
Brunson led the Knicks to their first title in 53 years, led all postseason scorers, and chose the Canyon of Heroes to say, graciously, nothing about any of it.
What comes next
Brunson is under contract. He’s not going anywhere. The open questions are about the players around him – the glue guys who turned New York’s roster into a functioning championship machine. Whether Dolan can write checks large enough to keep them while staying clear of the second apron is the real story of the summer.
“If we could bring back the whole team, exactly as is, why wouldn’t you?” Dolan told WFAN. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to.”
The Knicks won. Now they find out if they can afford to stay together.
Sources: ESPN, Yahoo Sports, amNewYork
