This summer has provided a shocking glimpse into the harsh reality of big contracts under the current CBA. The Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown because of his cap hit (at least, in part). The Oklahoma City Thunder dumped a bunch of salary to avoid the second apron. Once the New York Knicks have to pay Jalen Brunson, they’ll deal with some problems, and the Indiana Pacers are going to have to pay Tyrese Haliburton at the same time.
Brunson and Haliburton’s current contracts both expire the same year: 2028-29. Brunson has a player option for that year, so perhaps New York will have to pay him first, but the point is, both will get extensions around the same time. And because of that, both teams will be in danger of crossing the second apron.
New York and Indiana – two of the projected top teams in the East for the next few years – will have to face very similar second-apron decisions in the same time frame.
Pacers and Knicks will have to pay Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson at around the same time
The Knicks and Pacers are both stacked with depth, just like the Celtics and Thunder have been for the past few years. In today’s league, depth is one of the most important things a roster can have.
But the second apron comes for everybody. Last summer, it was the Celtics dumping Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. This summer, it was the Thunder dumping Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins.
Both teams – the Celtics and Thunder – are paying big-time salaries to their top guys. Now, Boston even traded one of those top guys. Once Brunson and Haliburton – two big-time rivals – get paid, the rest of the roster could have to shift.
In the case of New York, guys like Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart could be in danger. For the Pacers, it would be the group of Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, and Andrew Nembhard.
Having a ton of expensive players on a roster makes life difficult, because no team wants to stay in the second apron. Instead, teams make trades to avoid it.
Brunson took a pay cut to help the Knicks pay players, and Haliburton is still on a standard max contract. But once their new deals kick in, their respective teams’ payrolls will get kicked into high gear.
With that come tough decisions. Decisions that could blow up what the roster looks like. And for the Knicks and Pacers, those decisions could come at around the same time (but maybe sooner for New York, because it has more big salaries already on the roster).
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