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martin
Posts: 81735 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
8/6/2026 8:00 AM
Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL: Karl-Anthony Towns max extension with the Knicks? Working the pros and cons
Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns is eligible for a four-year, $272 million contract extension. That is the most that the soon-to-be 31-year-old can receive from the Knicks. Towns was extension eligible last offseason. However, nothing came to fruition between the two sides. Towns will make just over $57 million this coming season and has a player option worth just over $61 million the following year before his contract expires. One thing I’m certain of is that New York’s decision-makers will offer Towns an extension. What I’m not certain of, and don’t expect, is whether the cash-conscious Knicks will offer him a max contract. It’s been well-documented how much Jalen Brunson left on the table to secure his future while giving New York the flexibility to build the team that hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy just a few months ago. Brunson’s sacrifice, which helped lead the Knicks to their first NBA title in 53 years, has now become a talking point in the NBA sphere. Should stars give up money like Brunson to win? Victor Wembanyama recently left money on the table. Now, Towns finds himself in a similar position to the one Brunson was in a few years ago, and the fact that the two are teammates casts somewhat of an unfair spotlight on the three-time All-NBA selection. Here, from the vantage point of the suits in New York, I’m going to look at the pros and cons of giving Towns a max extension. Pros Towns, in theory, deserves it Say what you want about big men not aging well, his difficulties fitting in under head coach Mike Brown and the strategy behind not giving players max contracts, but the Knicks became title contenders when Towns arrived in Manhattan. I’m not saying he’s the sole reason — please don’t think I’m saying that. However, he’s been a big reason why New York entered a different echelon the last two seasons. In Towns’ first season with the Knicks, New York made its first Eastern Conference finals appearance in a quarter century. This year, well, yeah … we know what happened. Towns surely recognizes that organizations should, at some point, reward winning players. Despite the label that’s been attached to him, Towns has reached at least the conference finals in each of the last three seasons, including the Western Conference finals in his final year in Minnesota. He’s a winner. Players should try to get as much money as possible. It’s not Towns’ fault that the system is set up this way. Brunson is going to eventually get rewarded financially for his previous sacrifice. Just because Brunson took less money doesn’t mean Towns has to. The circumstances are different. Brunson crawled so everyone else could run, and now the Knicks have the roster and a chance to win another title or two over the next two seasons. Who cares if they’re in jeopardy of breaking up the team three or four years from now because Towns got a max extension? Also, owner James Dolan should consider going into the second apron for as long as this team has a chance to win. If he was willing to do that, then this wouldn’t be as interesting of a conversation. How does a team make one of its best players happy, someone who played a massive role in changing how the franchise and these decision-makers may be talked about forever? Pay him as much as they can and ride off into the sunset with the (majority of the) team that broke the mold. Deal with the consequences after. Other players might take notice Now that conversations are bubbling up about star players — in their primes — sacrificing money in this second-apron world to possibly compete for a title, surely players would acknowledge a franchise willing to pay players who got it done, right? There was a time in the not-too-distant past when the Knicks struggled to land marquee free agents (well, players who were considered marquee names at the time of their free agency). Many fans still feel the pain of missing out on LeBron James, Kevin Durant, etc. Two ways to capture the attention of potential players are to have a winning environment and show a willingness to reward players for succeeding. Giving Towns a max extension could open the eyes of players the Knicks might have interest in down the line, or at the very least garner their respect. It also shows the players in the building that winning gets rewarded financially. Cons Loss of flexibility This, in my opinion, will ultimately be the biggest factor if New York’s brass doesn’t offer Towns the max extension. Since president Leon Rose took over, he and his staff have routinely put themselves in a position to pivot, whether by being financially smart or stockpiling draft picks to make a move. There’s a world where that approach doesn’t change just because the franchise won a title. Instead, the Knicks could look to maintain their contender status while reshuffling the deck if Towns is unwilling to sign a deal for decently less than his max. Dolan doesn’t want his team in the second apron. That was made evident by New York losing Mitchell Robinson in free agency to the Boston Celtics. If Towns signs a max extension, Brunson doesn’t take another discount when he’s extension-eligible, and Josh Hart gets a decent-sized extension this summer or next, it would be impossible in the near future for the Knicks to avoid the second apron and all its penalties while keeping their core intact. OG Anunoby has three years (third year is a player option) left on his contract that will pay him over $40 million each season. Mikal Bridges signed an extension recently that will pay him in the mid-$30 million range over the next few seasons. I don’t mind the idea of running with the same championship core until it’s clear the wheels have fallen off, especially in a place like New York, where this cast of characters will be idolized for eternity. However, I can also understand why people whose job is to put a winning team on the floor could be uneasy with not being able to make significant tweaks here and there. Will Towns age well? This and loss of flexibility could be packaged together. Towns will be 31 shortly after the season starts. That’s not old, but the back half of a max extension gets dicey in basketball years. Towns isn’t as explosive as he was when he entered the league, but he hasn’t shown any major athletic decline recently. With that said, Towns had procedures on his knees not too long ago. Listen, it wouldn’t be crazy for the Knicks’ brass to think Towns might not be worth all of that money in two years. Big men don’t tend to age well, even if Towns is a rare species of big man. It would be understandable for New York’s suits to want to hedge their bet a little, sign Towns on a deal less than his max and give themselves some wiggle room in case he starts to decline in the back half of his deal. It all comes down to this: Will the Knicks prioritize the player more than the strategy? The former would be a slight departure from the latter. Towns has done everything to warrant getting the most money possible. And on the other side, New York’s decision-makers have earned the right to be as flexible as possible because doing so led to a title in the same way Towns’ play did. Maybe Towns is willing to take less money and everyone is happy. That would be a win-win. However, if Towns wants all the money he can get, no one should blame him. He’s got a limited time to earn as much as possible as a professional athlete. Players are human, too. Conversely, Towns shouldn’t feel slighted if the Knicks don’t offer him the max. It’s the business, and just like he has a job to do, so do the people making roster and financial decisions. Official sponsor of the PURE KNICKS LOVE Program
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martin
Posts: 81735 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
8/10/2026 6:44 PM
Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL: Knicks Notes: Where things stand on possible Karl-Anthony Towns extension We’ll know more about opening night of the Knicks season on Tuesday morning, when the NBA releases some of its games on Good Morning America. I still expect the league to give you Knicks-Sixers on Ring Night. But before we get there, New York still has some business to settle. Here are a few decisions the franchise needs to tackle between now and Opening Night: FILL OUT ROSTER The Knicks have 13 players under contract. They can carry as many as 21 players in training camp. So they have several roster spots to fill out. The biggest opening is at center. New York needs to find a third-string center to replace Ariel Hukporti. To that end, the Knicks spoke to multiple teams about trades for big men under contract earlier in the offseason. One of those big men was New Orleans’ Karlo Matkovic, per league sources; nothing came to fruition. New York targeted Moussa Cisse as a restricted free agent, but Dallas matched the offer. As you’d imagine, the Knicks have also been in touch with free agent centers who would fit the third-center profile. If they liked any of those centers enough to offer them a guaranteed contract, they probably would have done so already. So the most likely route here is to sign a couple of veteran bigs to training camp deals and let them compete for the third center spot. They would be able to add that veteran center and remain under the second apron in team salary. EXTEND THE VETS? Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride are all eligible for veteran extensions. My buddy James Edwards III wrote recently in The Athetic that he doesn’t expect the Knicks to offer Towns a max extension. Towns is a forever Knick; his play in New York’s championship season will be celebrated for as long as the franchise exists. But I agree with Edwards on this: I don’t think the Knicks will offer Towns a max in extension talks. Also, if I had to take a guess, the two sides will reach an agreement. Towns clearly loves New York. Maybe he can make more money with another team next summer (Towns has a $57 million salary this season and his contract has a $61 million player option for 2027-28). But why would he leave? He won a timeless championship with his hometown team. Unless the Knicks make an insultingly-low offer to Towns, I think they get something done here. If I’m using the recent Rudy Gobert extension as a baseline, I could see an extension for Towns starting around $45 million. By signing this kind of deal, Towns would obviously lose the opportunity to make more money as a 2027 free agent. But given all of the factors at play (the state of NBA economics, teams’ approach to the second apron, the Knicks’ title), there are reasons for Towns to play it safe and sign an extension. Towns leaving New York also would hurt the Knicks. If Towns and the team can’t agree on a deal, New York would have to make a significant pivot to find another front-line center. So from the outside looking in, it seems like it makes sense for both sides to figure out a deal. What about Hart? Similar to Towns, I could see the Knicks asking him to take less on his next contract in an effort to create future roster flexibility. What would Hart want to do? I have no idea. But if I had to guess, he wants to be in New York to see how the rest of the years with this core play out. McBride’s situation is a bit different due to his contract. McBride is on one of the most team-friendly deals in the NBA. He should be looking for a significant raise on an extension. He’s earned it. But can the Knicks extend Towns, Hart and McBride while also maintaining some roster flexibility? If they want to stay under the second apron, the answer is probably no. It would be very difficult to build out a roster with all of these new extensions on the books. Don’t forget, the Knicks, presumably, will also be signing Jalen Brunson to a major extension/free agency contract once the time comes. And Brunson has set the precedent for a Knick player taking less on an extension to help build the roster. Another element of the conversation is owner James Dolan’s decisions on spending. Dolan said on WFAN before free agency that he would not exceed the second apron in team salary next season. Does that apply to the 2027-28 season as well? What about 2028-29? (As an aside: It is unclear if the second apron decision was Dolan’s alone or if it was made in conjunction with Leon Rose and the Knicks front office. If it was Dolan’s alone, that would be a shame because the Knicks’ fan base spends significant money to attend games. It’s worth noting on this that Dolan and Rose have made many important decisions together during Rose’s tenure) One last note on the extensions: As Jeremy Cohen notes over at KnicksFilmSchool, any extension signed on August 12 or later will likely make that player untradeable at the 2027 deadline. TWO-WAY SPOTS? The Knicks have three open two-way spots. Jack Kayil won’t be taking one of them. There are reports that Tyler Nickel is considering going back to college, but, as noted last week, league sources say he is all-in on starting his pro career). If they sign Nickel to a two-way deal, the Knicks will have two other two-way spots to fill. With Trey Jemison III signing in Toronto, you would think the Knicks target a big man for at least one of those two-way spots. Official sponsor of the PURE KNICKS LOVE Program
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martin
Posts: 81735 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
8/11/2026 8:54 PM
Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL: Official sponsor of the PURE KNICKS LOVE Program
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Knixkik
Posts: 36146 Alba Posts: 0 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #11 USA |
8/12/2026 5:22 AM
martin wrote:Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL: Knicks really can’t determine how to deal with Deuce until they figure out KAT and Hart first. |
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Philc1
Posts: 29811 Alba Posts: 2 Joined: 9/2/2020 Member: #8897 |
8/13/2026 8:44 AM
Knixkik wrote:martin wrote:Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL: The Knicks can trade Deuce for a future draft pick(s) next February. Resigning Shamet and Alvarado and Kolek development makes him tradeable. |
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martin
Posts: 81735 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
8/17/2026 11:33 AM
Completely and utterly wild stat for KAT considering his "rep"
Kinda the same with Hart too? Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL: Official sponsor of the PURE KNICKS LOVE Program
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newyorknewyork
Posts: 30521 Alba Posts: 1 Joined: 1/16/2004 Member: #541 |
8/17/2026 1:39 PM
martin wrote:Completely and utterly wild stat for KAT considering his "rep" KAT was playing like arguably the best player in the NBA in terms of providing too many things for a team to have to account for. https://vote.nba.com/en Vote for your Knicks.
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Panos
Posts: 30864 Alba Posts: 3 Joined: 1/6/2004 Member: #520 |
8/17/2026 5:21 PM
newyorknewyork wrote:martin wrote:Completely and utterly wild stat for KAT considering his "rep" All 11 players on that list from 4 teams: Knicks, SAS, OKC and Houston |
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Philc1
Posts: 29811 Alba Posts: 2 Joined: 9/2/2020 Member: #8897 |
8/19/2026 10:09 AM
newyorknewyork wrote:martin wrote:Completely and utterly wild stat for KAT considering his "rep" Supermax the Man |
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martin
Posts: 81735 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
9/4/2026 9:48 AM
Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL: Official sponsor of the PURE KNICKS LOVE Program
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