Knicks make 3 trades to get out of Round 1 in bid to avoid 2nd apron

The New York Knicks were one of the most active teams on the first night of the 2026 NBA Draft proceedings, but as expected, they did not make any seismic changes to their roster after winning the 2026 NBA championship. Instead, the Knicks went on cost-cutting mode on Tuesday in a continued bid to duck the second apron for next season.

In fact, the Knicks made three trades, starting from their own first-round pick (pick 24), to get out of the first round of the draft entirely. The first domino to fall was their trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, moving back one spot in the draft to receive cash considerations from LA.

ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel then reported that the Knicks traded away the 25th pick (Sergio De Larrea) to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the 30th selection and two second-round picks. After receiving the 30th pick, New York then traded that away as well, this time sending the pick (Koa Peat) to the Phoenix Suns to get three more second-round picks in return.

To sum it up, the Knicks received five second-round picks and cash considerations for the 24th overall pick of this year’s draft. This prevents them from having to take on the guaranteed cap hit of a first-round selection, aiding in their quest to remain below the second apron all while trying to keep all of their free agents.

The most pressing matter for the Knicks is to keep Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet, both of whom played indispensable roles on their way to the title. As things stand, New York still has their work cut out for them, as they are projected to be just around $16 million below the second apron before making any moves, which doesn’t leave much room to keep Robinson and Shamet without deeping into that dreaded threshold.

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