beyond the back page The dilemmas the Knicks face as title jubilation meets roster reality By Jake Nisse Published June 16, 2026, 7:50 a.m. ET Knicks guard Jose Alvarado dribbles while being guarded by the Spurs' De'Aaron Fox in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 13, 2026. Getty Images To slightly misquote the late, great Notorious B.I.G., more money titles, more problems. And as the Knicks’ championship celebrations rage on through the summer, Leon Rose will have some tricky roster decisions to make over the coming weeks and months.
To be clear, the core of this team is likely not changing.
The starting five of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are all under contract next season. So, too, is bench contributor Miles McBride, as well as Tyler Kolek and Pacôme Dadiet — the latter two of whom only saw garbage-time minutes in the playoffs. Jose Alvarado has a $4.5 million player option.
