The Knicks’ next major roster test is already here, and it starts with Karl-Anthony Towns.
New York has been able to extend Towns since the NBA Finals ended, and that choice could set off the first real crack in the championship roster. The Knicks just won the title, but they’re also staring down the same financial pressure that has already forced other contenders to trim the fat. The Celtics and Thunder both made significant cost-saving moves after winning it all, and New York appears headed for that same reality.
Towns is on a max contract and was a vital part of the title run. The Knicks would love to get him at a discount, but he has clearly earned the right to chase every dollar available to him. At 30 years old, this may be his last huge payday, and there’s no obvious reason for him to take less after helping New York win a championship.
That’s where the trouble starts. New York has made it clear it will not go over the second tax apron, a line that functions like a hard cap.
With that restriction in place, the Knicks can’t realistically keep paying more than $40 million a year to four players. Their best pieces have no incentive to sacrifice now, and that is exactly how a title team begins to come apart.
ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill doesn’t expect Jalen Brunson to follow the same path of taking less forever, either. If Brunson lands a significant raise in the 2028-29 season, the Knicks may have to rebuild the roster around him.
The Athletic’s James Edwards laid out the dilemma clearly. New York doesn’t want to hand Towns the max because of the team’s spending concerns, but the Knicks also know he has little reason to accept less.
Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges are locked in for the next two years, so the Knicks could keep the core together by giving Towns a max extension. The catch is that it would likely push Josh Hart out and leave New York relying on several minimum contracts.
The roster squeeze has already started. Mitchell Robinson is gone, replaced by Andre Drummond, and the next wave of decisions is coming fast. The Knicks will need Towns to teach Drummond a crucial lesson, but the bigger issue is how many more pieces they can afford to keep.
The second apron has already done this to a champion before. The Celtics lost Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet after winning the 2024 title, leaving Jayson Tatum and Derrick White as the only two starters still on the roster. The 2025 champs have already dumped Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe, and more changes are coming as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets a $20 million raise in the 2027-28 season.
For New York, the Towns extension is the first big domino. Even if he agrees to take less, it won’t be anywhere near a $100 million discount over the life of the deal, and the Knicks will still be boxed in. One of their top six is likely to be moved, and the real question is which one and how much damage it does to the rest of the group.
Miles McBride is another looming problem, since he’ll need a new contract for the 2027-28 season and may soon be out the door. The Knicks won’t have the money to replace him, which sends them back to the minimum market again.
There’s no clean answer here. New York is facing the kind of extension decision that forces a team to choose between keeping a champion together and staying under the line.
The second apron comes for every NBA team, and the Knicks are next. The Towns decision will determine who gets trimmed, and how much of the roster survives.
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