Knicks found the ultimate loophole to engineer Karl-Anthony Towns trade
The New York Knicks pulled off a blockbuster move that shows they’re ready to challenge the Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Though the trade was announced on Sept. 27, it wasn’t finalized until Oct. 2. That’s because the Knicks had to find the ultimate loophole in the collective bargaining agreement to legitimize the trade.
How exactly did they pull it off adding Karl-Anthony Towns?
In the sign-and-trade portion of the deal, which involved sending Charlie Brown, DaQuan Jeffries and Duane Washington Jr. to the Hornets, the Knicks had to pay each of those players over the league minimum.
That’s because, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the CBA prohibits teams from aggregating minimum contracts. The Knicks are up against the first apron of the luxury tax so they needed that loophole to finalize the deal.
The Knicks have discovered a new loophole in the CBA.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) October 2, 2024
Teams in their situation cannot aggregate minimums anymore. So in the sign and trades of Jeffries, Brown and Washington, they are paying each of those guys just $1 above the minimum, league sources tell @TheAthletic.
So what did they do to legalize the trade? They paid Brown, Jeffries and Washington each exactly one dollar over the minimum to complete the deal, Katz added.
And with that, the Knicks added more firepower to contend in the East.
The Knicks are starting a new trend in the NBA
New York finding the loophole in the CBA could be the start of how teams keep up with building super teams to contend for championships.
Katz added the league isn’t happy about the Knicks finding the loophole but that’s the nature of how teams are looking for any competitive advantage they can find.
New York lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Indiana Pacers last season. This was the move the Knicks felt they needed to make to threaten the Celtics’ title defense.
And finding a way to added a weapon like Towns will probably start a trend of front office teams digging around for ways to offload some large contracts, while still contending.
It was a win-win for the Knicks and Timberwolves.
The Knicks realized they can win without Randle and found a way to offload him ahead of the final guaranteed year of his deal – he has a player option for next year.
Adding Towns was the next phase of the Knicks’ busy offseason.
And for the Timberwolves, they get a little bit more freedom after offloading Towns massive salary and add a solid two-way guard in Donte DiVincenzo.
It also could be a new opportunity for Randle to build off last season before missing the second half of the season with a shoulder injury last year.
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