The Knicks are at the point where keeping this group together means making some tough financial choices, and Karl-Anthony Towns is suddenly right in the middle of it.
Jalen Brunson, for one, appears headed for a massive payday. The Athletic’s Fred Katz wrote, “In 2028-29, Jalen Brunson's new contract will begin," The Athletic’s Fred Katz wrote. "All signs point to the NBA Finals MVP earning a significant raise, a projected $290 million over four years.”
Towns, though, is a different case. New York would like to lock him up with an extension, but the sides are not close, and the money he wants does not line up neatly with what the Knicks want to preserve on their payroll.
Katz noted, “Failing to extend KAT before the start of the season would wipe the most intuitive contract structure off the table. KAT receiving the money he wants…and the Knicks maintaining the payroll flexibility they insist upon becomes even tougher after Oct.
19,” Katz wrote.
Towns has already been open about being willing to take less, but the gap remains in just how much less he would need to accept. On Monday, he made clear the talks have not moved far enough to make him feel valued.
“Simply put - I want to do something to keep the team together and can work with the Knicks and also values me. And none of those things are close to happening,” he said.
If nothing gets done by the end of training camp, this looks like the kind of situation that is unlikely to suddenly come together once the regular season starts. The Knicks are willing to work with Towns, but there is also a clear limit to how far they’ll go. In the end, Towns may have to accept a significant pay cut if he wants to stay in New York.
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Knicks Are Running Into A Harsh Pacome Dadiet Reality
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For the Knicks, that leaves a familiar front office problem: trying to turn a roster logjam into a clean solution without paying too high a price. There has been no concrete deal reported, and the lack of outside interest suggests New York may have to get creative to get anything done. For now, Dadiet remains on the roster and the team is still looking for a path forward that fits both the cap sheet and the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]