Story perspectives

Lakers Lose Picks for Kessler; Knicks Add Drummond

8/6/2026

Summary

Lakers Forfeit Picks

Analysts warn that the Lakers’ forfeiture of two first-round picks and two swap rights to Utah for Walker Kessler’s $130 million deal leaves them without a first-round pick for seven seasons.
The Chicago Bulls assumed Nic Claxton’s $44 million, two-year contract despite ample cap space.
His 27th-percentile defensive rebound rate makes the high-cost, non-shooting center a potential obstacle to the Bulls’ offseason signings.

Summary

Knicks Lose Robinson

The Knicks let center Mitchell Robinson sign with the Boston Celtics, ending his New York stint.
Robinson’s offensive-board hustle produced the decisive rebound in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
Ongoing injuries and a career-low free-throw rate forced the Knicks to avoid a second-apron salary-cap penalty by not re-signing him.
The team replaced him with veteran Andre Drummond, a move analysts call a downgrade that could limit New York’s title-repeat chances.

History

Historical Context

The 2005 NBA CBA imposed a salary cap and a luxury-tax line of $61.7 million. That season the New York Knicks spent $124 million, paying the league over $62 million in tax, while the 2011 CBA shifted the tax to an incremental system with a $71.748 million threshold by 2013-14. Today teams such as the Lakers and Knicks still craft cap-avoidance deals.

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Lakers Forfeit Picks

Analysts warn that the Lakers’ forfeiture of two first-round picks and two swap rights to Utah for Walker Kessler’s $130 million deal leaves them without a first-round pick for seven seasons.
The Chicago Bulls assumed Nic Claxton’s $44 million, two-year contract despite ample cap space.
His 27th-percentile defensive rebound rate makes the high-cost, non-shooting center a potential obstacle to the Bulls’ offseason signings.

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