Paolo Banchero’s looming max extension is creating one of those cap squeezes that can ripple far beyond Orlando. The Magic are trying to stay below the second apron, and in the process they’ve already moved on from Jonathan Isaac, waiving the veteran on Saturday as Banchero’s $239.25 million deal is set to kick in next season.
That development could wind up mattering in New York.
The Knicks are already bracing for Mitchell Robinson to be gone this offseason, with the longtime center’s future tied to James Dolan’s reported frugalness and Robinson’s own financial goals. If that split happens, New York will need a new big man behind Karl-Anthony Towns, and Isaac suddenly looks like a logical name to circle.
Isaac is the kind of frontcourt piece teams can talk themselves into quickly. At 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot wingspan, he brings size, defensive feel and enough athleticism to move across the three through the five. Over his career, he’s averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
The obvious concern is health. Isaac is coming off a rough 2025-26 season in which he managed just 2.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game before suffering a season-ending knee sprain in early March. That kind of recent injury history would usually cool interest.
But it may also push his price down, which is exactly why the Knicks could benefit. If New York is going to lose Robinson, the priority this summer is clear: find low-cost players with upside who can fill specific holes. A veteran minimum deal for Isaac would fit that approach neatly.
There’s also a basketball argument for why Isaac makes sense. He isn’t Robinson on the glass, but he is more switchable defensively and has shown some willingness to stretch the floor, having shot better than 34 percent from three four times in his career.
If Robinson does leave, Isaac would give the Knicks a low-risk way to patch the loss of a large, defensive-minded big. In that scenario, the Magic’s cap crunch may have handed New York a very workable fallback.
In Other News...
Knicks May Have A Way To Keep Mitchell Robinson After All
Mitchell Robinsons next contract has become one of the more delicate Knicks questions, not just because he matters on the floor, but because of how tightly New York is trying to manage its books. Owner James Dolan has been reluctant to push too far past the NBAs second-apron luxury-tax line, which has made any long-term retention plan feel complicated even as the Knicks weigh how much they want to invest in keeping their center in place.
Still, there is a path for the front office to explore if Robinsons market does not spiral out of control. New York could use a short-term approach that keeps the roster together now and gives the team room to adjust later, with smaller trades and salary trimming potentially providing a way to get back under the line. The wrinkle is timing, because the Knicks would need enough flexibility to make that cleanup work before the leagues harsher penalties start to bind their future. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Got A Warning About How Brunson Could View This
Nikola Jokics looming contract choice in Denver has put a familiar fear back on the radar in New York: what happens when a franchise player has enough leverage to decide whether a max extension is really the move? For the Knicks, the name to watch is Jalen Brunson, whose future could eventually intersect with the same kind of decision point if the team keeps operating with a hard eye on its spending limits.
James Dolans reported reluctance to push the Knicks past the second salary apron only sharpens the issue, because that posture can shape more than just one contract negotiation. It affects how much flexibility the front office has now and how convincing the long-term pitch can be later, with the possibility of having to navigate tough calls on core pieces and, eventually, on the player the franchise would least want to lose. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Koleks Knicks Path Just Got A Lot Murkier
The Knicks backcourt picture got a little more crowded with news that the team has agreed to a three-year extension with Jose Alvarado, a move that reinforces the depth chart behind Jalen Brunson and trims the runway for Tyler Kolek. For a young guard trying to carve out a role, the timing matters. Every extra ballhandler changes the minutes math, the practice reps and the margin for error, and New York has made clear it values guards who can handle the ball, defend and keep the rotation flexible.
Kolek still has the kind of passing feel that can keep him in the conversation, but the path to steady playing time looks narrower now than it did before Alvarados return. The Knicks can try to get creative by using Kolek in more of a combo role, though that would come with its own ripple effects elsewhere on the roster. If the front office eventually looks for ways to balance the group, Kolek could wind up in the kind of trade conversation that often involves draft assets or bigger roster needs, which is why this latest move feels bigger than one backup guard signing. [Read more 🡒]