Breaking down the Knicks' sign-and-trade options to acquire Jalen Brunson

A few notes on the Knicks and what’s next in their offseason, including a potential sign-and-trade with the Dallas Mavericks…

The Knicks have already agreed to deals with Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson. They can use their existing cap space to sign Brunson and Hartenstein and then exceed the cap to re-sign Robinson.

They can also execute a sign-and-trade with the Mavs to acquire Brunson. In some sign-and-trade scenarios, they can then use an exception to sign Hartenstein and another player.

Would the Knicks or Dallas want to execute a sign-and-trade on Brunson? I don’t know the answer to that right now. As previously noted, some members of the Mavs were open to the idea of a sign-and-trade as of late last month.

With Brunson off the roster, Dallas has a void to fill in the backcourt. The Mavs can fill the void with former Net Spencer Dinwiddie, but the club still needs depth. So executing a sign-and-trade may make sense for the Mavs. For the Knicks, a sign-and-trade could give them access to different exceptions, which they would presumably use to sign other players.

Of course, Dallas is said to be upset over the Knicks’ approach with Brunson. So maybe the Mavs have no interest in engaging with New York – even if it is in the club’s best interest.

Here are a few different scenarios for the Knicks’ acquisition of Brunson:

USING THEIR CAP SPACE

If the Knicks sign Brunson into cap room, they’d also sign Hartenstein into cap room. That would take them right up against the salary cap. If they were to waive veteran center Taj Gibson, they’d get an additional $5.2 million to spend before they hit the cap. Once they hit the salary cap, they’d re-sign Robinson over the cap, and still have the room mid-level exception ($5.4 million, up to two years). They converted Jericho Sims’ two-way deal to a three-year contract earlier Thursday, a source confirmed. The deal is not fully guaranteed; it will have a team option after Year 2. The Knicks can use cap space to execute this deal if they are operating under the cap. Details of the contract were first reported by The Athletic and Newsday. SNY reported last week that the Knicks were strongly considering converting Sims to a traditional contract and signing second-round pick Trevor Keels to a two-way deal, and Keels was also inked to a two-way deal on Thursday.

SIGN AND TRADE INTO CAP SPACE

If the Knicks acquire Brunson via sign-and-trade into cap room, they’d also sign Hartenstein into cap room. That would take them right up against the salary cap. But if they waive Gibson, they’d get another $5.2M to spend before hitting the salary cap. Once they hit the salary cap, the Knicks would re-sign Robinson over the cap. They would still have the room mid-level exception. In this instance, they would use cap space to sign Sims to a three-year deal. Dallas would get a $12 million trade exception in this scenario, which could help them obtain another player. It’s possible that New York would ask for something small in return, such as a future second-round pick.

OVER THE CAP SIGN AND TRADE

If the Knicks acquire Brunson while remaining over the cap, they could exceed the cap to sign Robinson and could sign Hartenstein with part of the non-tax payer mid-level exception. In this scenario, they would have the remainder of the exception (roughly $2.7 million) and the bi-annual exception ($4.1 million) to use on other players. They could fit Sims' deal into the non-tax payer mid-level exception. In this scenario, they’d be able to keep the $9.2 million trade exception they created in the Kemba Walker move. This scenario would likely involve a third team like Detroit getting involved. The Knicks would need to send out roughly $19 million in a sign-and-trade scenario if they are operating as a team over the cap. The easiest way to do this is to include the Pistons, who could acquire Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel as part of a three-team sign and trade. This would give the Knicks access to the Walker trade exception and the exceptions mentioned above. To entice Detroit, maybe Dallas would send a future pick to Detroit. (Remember, in this scenario, Dallas would receive a trade exception worth roughly $12 million.)

**If the Knicks or Pistons announce the Noel/Burks trade before the Knicks announce the Brunson signing, then this three-team option is off the table.

The Knicks and Mavericks could also engage in a two-team sign-and-trade, but it seems unlikely. In this scenario, the Knicks would have to send out a minimum of roughly $19 million. This would be expensive for the Mavs, who are already a tax team. In this instance, Dallas would also have to send the Knicks at least $3 million in salaries, which the club could absorb via the Walker trade exception. This deal, again, seems unlikely because of the salary implications for Dallas.