For the last three months, the Knicks have basked in the glory of the franchise’s first NBA championship in 53 years, brought about by one of the greatest playoff runs we’ve ever seen behind a roster fully maxed out on chemistry, talent and schematic fit. But the new season is less than a month away, and with it comes the stark reminders of what the future will hold for New York.
That brings us to this week, when ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the team’s extension talks with star center Karl-Anthony Towns had “stalled.” Towns was indispensable throughout the Knicks’ postseason run (even when he ran into foul trouble in the latter half of the NBA Finals) but has only two years remaining on his current deal; Towns is under contract through this season and has a player option for the 2027–28 campaign. Per the report, player and team have engaged in extension negotiations throughout the offseason, yet an agreement before training camp begins in the coming days is “considered unlikely.”
It’s far from a five-alarm fire for New York. It is standard practice to engage in extension talks when a star player has two years remaining on his deal and it doesn’t hurt anyone if a deal can’t be struck for a while yet. The report does highlight, however, that the Towns extension represents something of a conundrum for the Knicks—one that represents the biggest, earliest risk of breaking up the roster that just won a title.
Let’s dig into why Towns’s contract situation is something New York has to carefully navigate and what options the franchise has at its disposal.
Why Towns’s contract is a problem for the Knicks
The issue at the heart of this is one most NBA fans are surely familiar with by this stage: the second apron.
Towns’s current contract is enormous. He has two years remaining on a four-year, $227 million deal signed with the Timberwolves before he was traded to the Knicks; the All-Star center will make $57 million this year and a whopping $61 million the following if he picks up his player option. In 2026–27 he’s slated to be the 10th-highest paid player in the league, and can sign an extension worth up to $276 million over four years, nearly $70 million annually.
If Towns were a top-10 NBA player, it would be less of an issue, but he is not. As good as KAT is he isn’t one of the 10 best players in the league. He isn’t even the best player on his own team, an honor that belongs to Jalen Brunson. Which doesn’t mean he isn’t worth paying, to be clear. Towns is every bit the modern star at center, the best shooting big man of all time who showed in the playoffs he can distribute and be trusted to hold up defensively in the biggest of moments. But his contract is a relic of the pre-apron era when very good players got paid like great ones. No contending team can afford to do that anymore with how narrow the spending margins are.
So, Towns’s deal as it stands is pricy for what he brings to the table. It makes for a tricky negotiation on the Knicks’ end given how critical he was to New York’s first NBA title. But that’s not all that goes into it.
Towns’s co-stars in the starting lineup have already gotten extensions or will be getting one in the near future. OG Anunoby will make north of $40 million per year over the next three seasons. Mikal Bridges is entering the first season of a four-year, $150 million extension this campaign. Brunson and his famously cheap deal will be eligible for a gigantic extension next summer that will come in north of $250 million in total value. Josh Hart, too, is in line for a new deal. It is going to make for an exceptionally expensive roster going forward even before taking Towns’s deal into consideration.
And it’s not just money out of owner James Dolan’s pocket, either. Should New York dole out max-money extensions like candy, the franchise will go flying over the second apron. Dolan gave a specific edict even after winning last year’s championship that the Knicks cannot go over the second apron under any circumstances, directly leading to the departure of Mitchell Robinson in free agency. He (and therefore the front office) won’t sign off on new contracts that risk going into the second apron. Yet they also have to negotiate new deals that reflect championship contributions if the priority is to keep the window of contention open as long as possible with this current core.
Thus is the challenge for every championship team, not just the Knicks. We saw it play out with the Celtics, who broke up up their title core one year after raising a banner. We saw it play out with the Nuggets, who erred on the side of paying their championship players and have been forced to downgrade the roster talent-wise in the years since as a result. Now we’re seeing the first steps of the challenge unfold in New York for the defending champs. A bit earlier than expected, but arriving inevitably.
What are options going forward?
Breaking down the Knicks’ options with KAT
There are effectively four paths New York can take over the next year as the front office navigates the post-championship landscape.
Option 1: Pay Towns as much money as possible
This is the least likely option given the Knicks’ focus on avoiding the second apron. But it remains an option because it’s the simplest and the one guaranteed to make Towns happy. Just offer him a max deal (worth $276 million over four years) as thanks to his contributions to the title and accept that the near future of the Knicks will revolve around his $70 million annual salary.
This would likely result in a core of Brunson and Towns going forward once the superstar point guard signs his own max extension. Anunoby, Bridges and perhaps Hart would have to be moved eventually if staying below the apron remains an organizational priority. Not this year, but as soon as next offseason, and definitely by 2028.
Option 2: Convince Towns to take a discounted extension
This is the path the Knicks seem most interested in taking, according to reporting around the situation. SNY’s Ian Begley reported New York has spoken to Towns’s camp about an extension worth $45 million to $50 million annually, about $20 million less per year than the max he could earn. Stefan Bondy of the New York Post said the Knicks are asking Towns to take a discount. Regardless of particulars, the framing is the same: New York wants Towns to do what Brunson did in 2024 and take less money in order to keep as much championship-caliber talent in the building as possible.
It could work! It did with Brunson, and the Knicks certainly have proof of concept as far as winning a title goes. Getting Towns down to the Anunoby-Bridges salary range makes avoiding the apron while keeping the championship core together much more feasible. But it takes two to tango and Towns may not be willing to compromise.
Option 3: Kick the can down the road
In which case the Knicks would have no option but to kick this can down the road. Towns is extension-eligible until June 30, so the two parties could simply opt to play out the coming year and revisit extension talks after all is said and done. It’s a risky proposition but one that could pay off for one side big-time.
If Towns has a down year, a discount on the extension is much more realistic. Yet if he shines, it’s a tough sell for the Knicks. And if they go back-to-back as champions with Towns playing as well as he did last spring? He’d want every dollar coming his way and it would be unprecedented to tell him no. If it ends up down the middle, where Towns plays well enough but New York fails to defend its title, then it’ll be back to square one—but the team would have a much better idea of what the coming years will look like. Given Towns won’t be quick to capitulate on his next deal and the Knicks aren’t eager to give him everything possible, this is looking like the most probable outcome.
Option 4: Explore trade options
Nobody wants this, especially in the warm aftermath of championship glow. However, if Towns is steadfast in his desire to sign a max deal and the Knicks remain equally steadfast in their refusal to offer him such a deal, they have no choice but to explore the trade market.
The absolute worst-case scenario for New York is allowing Towns to walk in free agency. The front office will do anything to prevent that from happening—even trading a Finals hero. Aiding that view is the reality that there are teams who would pay Towns as much money as he wants. Centers who can shoot are extremely valuable and KAT is the very best of them. If the Knicks put him on the trade block, there would be a dozen teams on the phone immediately, ready to offer up serious assets and a fat new contract to land the star center.
New York will do everything in its power to stop things from getting to this point. But if the clock is about to strike midnight on June 30 and there’s still no new deal in place ... the conversation will change.
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