Teams that go above the second apron have their hands tied even more.
Beyond all first-apron restrictions, second-apron teams also can't aggregate two or more smaller contracts to acquire a bigger salary.
They also lose access to the taxpayer MLE in free agency and can't trade their first-round pick seven years in the future.
Since the Knicks stayed under the second apron in 2024-25, they were allowed to aggregate contracts to acquire both Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns via trade.
Since they stayed under it this season as well, they had access to the taxpayer MLE.
They used it to sign Guerschon Yabusele to a two-year, $12 million contract in free agency.
Yabusele didn't work out as hoped for the Knicks, but he wasn't a total loss.
They wound up flipping him for Dalen Terry, whom they quickly dealt for Game 1 hero Jose Alvarado ahead of the February trade deadline.
Had Brunson been on a market-value contract, the Knicks would have been over the second apron each of the past two years, barring other moves.
They wouldn't have been able to aggregate contracts for Bridges or Towns, nor would they have had the taxpayer MLE this past offseason.
Unlike other teams, the Knicks are willing to spend deep into the luxury tax under the right circumstances.
But the latest CBA imposes draconian roster-building restrictions for teams that cross either apron.
Brunson's current contract is the Knicks' way around that.
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