The Boston Celtics just reset the market for one of the New York Knicks’ own contract headaches.
Payton Pritchard’s new deal - two years, $44 million - now sits there as a fresh reference point, and it’s the kind of number that can make a team like New York wince. Deuce McBride is next in line for that conversation, and if his camp looks at Pritchard’s extension as the floor, the price tag for the Knicks gets a lot steeper.
That matters because New York already has bigger decisions brewing. The Knicks have shut down extension talks with Karl-Anthony Towns, and Josh Hart is also on the list of players who could be due for new money. Stack those names together and the payroll picture gets crowded fast.
McBride asking for something around $21 million per year wouldn’t be out of bounds, but it would put the Knicks in a tough spot. If Towns is extended, New York would have at least four players making at least $33 million a season, and that kind of structure doesn’t fit cleanly under a salary cap of just $156 million this season.
McBride’s role only adds to the tension. He averaged 21 minutes per game last season, and while the Knicks clearly value him, Pritchard’s deal gives him a much more expensive starting point in negotiations. If he and his agent decide he belongs in that same neighborhood, talks could open around $20 million annually.
At that point, New York may decide the answer is to move on and look for a cheaper backup guard. The team already went that direction by replacing Mitchell Robinson with Andre Drummond, and McBride could end up in a similar spot if his price keeps climbing.
That’s where the Knicks run into what Pat Riley once called "the disease of more." It’s the classic problem for good teams: players who helped make winning possible now want to be paid like it, and the bill gets heavier with every new deal.
If the Knicks take a hard line, Towns could be the first major domino. The reporting here points to New York standing firm on its demand that he take a $76 million pay cut to stay, which could push him to opt out next summer and possibly leave.
That would give the Knicks a little more room, but not nearly enough to solve everything. They may not be able to keep both Hart and McBride, and if it comes to choosing between them, Hart looks like the likelier keep while McBride could be traded or allowed to walk.
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