Report: Knicks Avoid Luxury Tax

The NY Post reports that New York did not pay a luxury tax for the first season since 1999—another reason why Donnie Walsh deserves much credit for his work as Knicks GM: “Give former Knicks president Donnie Walsh a pat on the back. The NBA announced yesterday its audit for the 2010-11 season is complete and, according to a person familiar with the situation, the Knicks did not pay a luxury tax for the first time since the now-expired collective bargaining agreement was reached in 1999. According to a person debriefed on the audit, the Knicks 2010-11 payroll finished over the salary cap following the Carmelo Anthony bonanza, but finished at $67 million — $3 million less than the luxury-tax threshold. During the Isiah Thomas and Scott Layden years, the Knicks paid a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax of $24-30 million annually, when their payroll skied above $100 million, leading to Walsh’s hiring and his massive cap-cutting. A source said the three luxury-tax victims were the Lakers, Orlando and the NBA champion Mavericks, each paying around $20 million.”