Karl-Anthony Towns wants to stay with the New York Knicks. The Knicks want to keep him. The problem is price — specifically, how much Towns should sacrifice to make the math work on a team still living with the financial weight of its championship.
No deal is expected before the 2026-27 season tips off, multiple outlets confirmed. Towns is eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $276 million, but New York has pushed for a number significantly below the maximum, citing long-term salary-cap discipline in the post-title era.
The Gap: How Much Is Too Much?
Towns has indicated a willingness to accept reduced compensation — a move in the mold of Jalen Brunson, who famously waived roughly $100 million off his max to give the organization breathing room. But there’s a limit.
As ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported: “He is also willing to take a pay cut. But the pay cut that the Knicks are asking him to take, he views as unreasonable.”
The exact figures remain undisclosed. Towns currently earns $57 million, with a $61.1 million player option for 2027-28. Without an extension, he becomes one of the most coveted trade chips in the league heading into next February’s deadline — a scenario Knicks management would strongly prefer to avoid.
What the Knicks Risk
New York won its championship with Towns as a crucial piece of the second unit — his fit alongside Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges proved more potent than most predicted. Letting that chemistry unravel over a salary dispute would be a costly miscalculation.
For now, Towns will report to training camp. He has publicly stated he wants to finish his career in New York. But each week without a signed extension raises the pressure on both sides. The October contract deadline isn’t a hard wall — extensions can be negotiated through the season — but the longer this drags, the louder the noise gets around a team that should be focused entirely on defending its title.
The Brunson Precedent
Brunson’s hometown discount became a blueprint. But that sacrifice was Brunson’s voluntary choice, made at a specific moment in his career and market value. Asking Towns to replicate it on a $276 million scale, when his numbers and production justify the full figure, is a different negotiating posture entirely.
The Knicks are betting Towns values the environment, the market, and the winning culture enough to meet them somewhere in the middle. The center’s camp this week will be worth watching — not for what happens on the practice court, but for what gets said on the way in and out. Sources: ESPN, Newsweek.
