The Knicks may not have to worry as much about the Warriors in any Karl-Anthony Towns chase, and it has everything to do with Kristaps Porzingis.
Golden State has been mentioned often as a possible Towns landing spot if he reaches free agency this summer. The logic is obvious enough: the Warriors don’t have a long-term answer at center, and they’ve got cap flexibility.
But that flexibility may not last.
The Warriors are exploring trades for Porzingis, who could reportedly walk away from basketball as he deals with lingering effects from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). If Golden State moves his contract, it would almost certainly eat into the money the team would otherwise have available to beat New York’s offer for Towns.
Even with Stephen Curry still producing flashes of brilliance, the Warriors don’t look like the kind of roster that would be especially appealing to Towns if his goal is to keep chasing championships. Curry is 38 years old, and after him Golden State doesn’t have much beyond Yaxel Lendeborg and, depending on the day, Brandin Podziemski.
Still, the Warriors matter because of what they can spend. Right now, they are projected to have almost $50 million in room next summer.
That figure could rise above $60 million depending on player options for Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton. It could go higher still if the Warriors can find a move for Moses Moody.
The problem is that much of that space depends on Porzingis’ contract coming off the books. He is guaranteed only $3 million next season. If Golden State trades him, it would likely have to take money back that stretches beyond this season, and that would significantly reduce the cap room it has been counting on.
Technically, the Warriors could send Porzingis out for an expiring deal. But the context matters.
He is not expected to play anytime soon, and may not return at all. Teams would be looking at him less as a basketball piece and more as a contract they can use in a bigger salary exchange.
Consider the Milwaukee Bucks. Myles Turner has two more years and $57 million left on his contract after this season.
A deal built around Turner and other salary for Porzingis would let Milwaukee clear future money, but it would also leave Golden State adding $27.9 million to next year’s books alone. That would wipe the Warriors out of the Towns market.
The bigger picture favors New York. The teams that look flexible enough to chase Towns next summer may not still have that room when the time comes. In-season trades have a way of shrinking offseason options, and Golden State’s Porzingis situation is a clean example.
That’s also why big names rarely hit free agency the way they used to. The market gets in the way.
And for the Knicks, the latest twist may be another boost in a Towns negotiation they already seem well-positioned to win, whether he signs an extension during the season or waits until after it. If one of their biggest realistic threats to keeping him removes itself from the race early, New York’s leverage only gets stronger.
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