Ah, training camp. Finally back into the swing of things with basketball. It really is a lot more peaceful as defending champions, isn’t it?
Let’s see what’s going on as Media Day nea-
Ah, I guess we were overdue for something negative.
Karl-Anthony Towns is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. It’s been assumed, especially after a championship, that Towns and the Knicks were going to be tied at the hip going forward, but the complicated mechanisms of the salary cap and second apron will of course serve as a boogeyman for roster building.
Now, what Shams has reported seems to be a bit dramatic based on what several Knicks reporters have said about the situation, but the consensus seems to be that the two sides are not nearing any sort of agreement as of yet.
As we know, Towns is eligible for a four-year, $276 million extension, but he will not receive that figure. It’s nothing personal, he could absolutely argue he’s worth it considering guys like De’Aaron Fox and Trae Young make north of $200 million, it’s just not practical for roster construction.
With James Dolan seemingly adamant about not exceeding the second apron, this negotiation will be walking a tightrope. The Knicks undoubtedly want to chop down the $61 million that Towns is currently due on a player option in 2026-27 because that figure would make things extremely awkward next offseason.
By current projections, the Knicks have $221.3 million on the books in 2027-28 if we assume KAT opts into his player option, they pick up Josh Hart and Tyler Kolek’s team options, and decline Pacome Dadiet’s. That would put the team $12.5 million beneath the second apron with five mandatory roster spots to fill. There is a way to do that; it would just ensure that Deuce McBride walks, and the team can’t use anything other than a vet min.
Cutting that number to, say, $50 million (Ian Begley suggests that’s on the table) for a new extension would give them $23.5 million in space beneath the apron, giving the team significantly more flexibility. Anything lower? They’d feasibly be able to give McBride a market-value extension.
So you can see what the vision is for Leon Rose and company to keep this contention window open, but Towns is going to have to play ball.
From his vantage point, why should he play ball? He’s an NBA champion, was arguably the most important piece of the team’s 13-game playoff winning streak, and played exceptional defense on Victor Wembanyama. Why should he have to be cut the same checks as Trae Young and De’Aaron Fox, two guys who’ve shown they can’t be winning players?
Jalen Brunson taking his pay cut may have opened an organizational Pandora’s Box, expecting everyone to take less, but it has nothing to do with him or the team, it has everything to do with the aprons.
It’s simple. The only way to have a sustainable winner in this CBA is to have a plethora of draft capital and high draft picks, or have guys take pay cuts. Option 1 closed as soon as Brunson got to New York and ended any potential tank talk, so there’s only one option.
If the two sides can’t hash anything out by October, it’s not the end of the world. They can agree to terms at any time; there’s no deadline like there is for rookie-scale extensions, but you get concerned because in-season extensions for All-Stars are rare. If we get to Opening Night with no deal, this might just bleed into next summer, something that you want to avoid.
Next summer, Towns has a player option. Now, many times when a player has the option to opt into a huge salary like that, they take it, but there’s a chance he doesn’t. After all, he could sign a deal of up to $264 million across four years in free agency next summer with someone else, or could even get as much as a baffling five-year, $357.3 million supermax in a sign-and-trade or extremely late extension. That’s a lot of cash, all of which the Knicks can’t feasibly match.
The risk that you take is that a team with cap space next offseason can just try to scoop up Towns next offseason, but how much of a risk is that? After all, stars rarely change teams in free agency anymore. Who even has cap space?
That’s more teams with room than usual, but $50 million gets you a lot less than it used to. As of right now, only the Nets have true max salary space, with the Bulls and Clippers close behind. None of those teams are competitive, so signing there indicates you just want a bag and don’t want to win. I know KAT loves New York, but I don’t think he loves Brooklyn that much.
Obviously, a sign-and-trade would be the most likely thing to happen if the relationship deteriorates that much, but things just shouldn’t go there. A big reason why this Knicks team succeeded was because of the good vibes that persisted in a team that always believed in each other. Ego is the downfall of every good team, and the Knicks can’t afford that.
That’s the bigger risk of letting this bleed out than the risk of losing Towns. I’d be utterly stunned if an extension wasn’t eventually agreed to, whether today, tomorrow, or in June 2027, both sides need it.
Towns deserves to be a Knick for the rest of his career and see his No. 32 lifted into the rafters, but the two sides are going to have to find a middle ground. There are non-negotiables here, both with Towns getting a max and the Knicks getting him to take a ridiculous pay cut.
The staring contest will continue, but someone has to blink. Neither side can afford eye drops.
