The Knicks have spent this stretch of contention doing something the Nuggets have not: making hard financial choices without tearing apart the top of the roster.
That matters because Denver’s version of cost-cutting has become a warning sign. Since winning the title in 2023, the Nuggets have repeatedly tried to trim payroll and luxury-tax pain by losing useful players and valuable assets. If Nikola Jokic eventually walks, the chain of events won’t be hard to trace.
New York has avoided that kind of self-inflicted damage so far.
Yes, the Knicks have cut costs. Mitchell Robinson’s recent exit will be enough for some people to argue otherwise, but the bigger picture is different. Robinson left for nothing, but he wasn’t a starter and wasn’t as central to New York’s title hopes as Michael Porter Jr. was to Denver’s 2023 championship team.
The Knicks’ mistakes, where they exist, have been less catastrophic. They have treated first-round picks in a messy way at times.
Drafting Pacome Dadiet because he was willing to sign for less than the full rookie scale does not look especially clean now. They have also moved first-rounders more than once to dodge a preset cap hit, including this past June.
Still, those decisions have come with eyes open. New York has known where those picks were landing when it made the moves.
And when the Knicks have sent out first-rounders, it has usually been tied to an upgrade like Mikal Bridges or to gathering multiple second-round picks. They have not used a first-round pick to dump a veteran salary since 2022, when they were trying to create room to sign Brunson, the reigning Finals MVP.
The real edge for New York has been negotiation. The Knicks keep landing deals that help them rather than hurt them.
Josh Hart picked up his $13 million before beginning his current contract, preserving flexibility. Bridges signed a sub-max extension last offseason that now looks well below market.
Landry Shamet came back to New York this summer even though other teams offered more. Mohamed Diawara’s new contract is also described as beyond team-friendly.
Even Karl-Anthony Towns is now being viewed as a possible candidate to take a discount on his next deal.
Denver cannot say the same. The Nuggets did not negotiate down contracts for Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, or Christian Braun. Their cheaper swings haven’t turned into long-term bargains, and when they finally drew a line with Peyton Watson, they ended up moving him anyway.
That pattern has left Denver in a weaker spot. The Nuggets let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk for nothing in 2024.
In 2025, they sent Porter and a 2032 first-round pick to the Knicks for Cam Johnson. In 2026, they moved Watson for a 2031 first-round pick from Cleveland without taking back any money.
All three moves were about cutting payroll and shrinking the tax bill. All three looked bad.
Losing KCP for nothing was poor asset management even if his later stops with the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies didn’t go well. The Porter deal was worse, because it downgraded talent and cost Denver what was then its best trade chip.
That is the gap between the two franchises right now. The Knicks have trimmed spending without burning through the core of their roster or handing away future flexibility just to save money. Denver has done the opposite, and that is why questions about Jokic’s future are starting to surface with one year left before free agency.
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Cavaliers Just Gave Knicks Fans Another Reason To Doubt Them
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Hardens recent conference finals showing against New York only adds to the unease around Clevelands bet. Even before the financial commitment is fully unpacked, the fit and the long-range value are already under the microscope, and the Knicks can only watch as a rival takes on a massive gamble that may or may not age cleanly. [Read more 🡒]
Mikal Bridges Is Chasing Rare NBA History Knicks Fans Should Track
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The streak also gives Bridges a place in a different kind of history chase. He owns the second-longest run to begin a career without missing a game, and he already passed Andre Miller for the best such start since 2000. For Knicks fans, the interesting part is not just how far he has come, but how rare it would be for him to keep climbing if his body cooperates over the next couple of seasons. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Still Have One Roster Battle Worth Watching In Camp
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One name in the mix is Julian Reese, whose rebounding profile makes him an appealing non-guaranteed camp option. His game has drawn an Andre Drummond comparison because of how he impacts the glass, and his recent work with Washington only adds to the sense that he could fit New Yorks roster strategy if the team wants a rugged, rebound-first presence tucked behind its main rotation. [Read more 🡒]