New York Knicks owner James Dolan announced on Wednesday that he refuses to enter the restrictive second apron to maintain the current roster for the 2026-27 campaign, despite the squad capturing its initial NBA championship in over five decades.

"We cannot go into the second apron," Dolan stated during his appearance on WFAN radio in New York.

Exceeding this limit restricts a franchise's options in free agency and various roster construction tools. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the sole team to breach this mark in the previous season.

Per ESPN analyst Bobby Marks, the Knicks are expected to sit roughly $13 million beneath the second apron heading into the offseason. Key reserves Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet enter free agency. Jose Alvarado might join them, as he has until Monday to decide on his $4.5 million player option.

This situation presents challenges, given the Knicks operated merely $200,000 under the second apron during the prior year.

The team's primary starting lineup remains under contract for the upcoming season, and the organization faces no prohibitions against retaining its current players if desired.

The Knicks and star center Karl-Anthony Towns failed to agree on an extension prior to the 2025-26 season's beginning, but discussions can resume this summer. Towns played a pivotal role in the club's historic 13-game postseason victory run.

In the WFAN discussion, Dolan addressed whether he aims to retain the full roster, a group poised as a top contender for the Finals if preserved.

"I don't know if we'll be able to," he remarked to WFAN. "We're willing to stretch, but there's certain things in the NBA that you'd have to be suicidal to do. One of them is the second apron."

Since the 2023 collective bargaining agreement introduced the second apron, only Cleveland, the Boston Celtics, the Phoenix Suns, and the Minnesota Timberwolves have crossed into it. Should the Knicks do the same, restrictions would include bans on cash transfers in trades, the $6.1 million tax midlevel exception for free agents, salary aggregation in deals, and exceeding 100% of any traded player exception.

Additionally, a club cannot deal its first-round pick seven years forward if it ends a season above the second apron. That pick might also shift to the round's end if the team exceeds the limit in three of four seasons.

Dolan indicated he will defer personnel choices to Knicks president Leon Rose.

"I'll write as big of a check as possible, but I can't write a check into the second apron," Dolan shared with WFAN.