The Knicks’ next big financial decision doesn’t need to be a mystery. It really comes down to one thing: keep Karl-Anthony Towns, keep Jalen Brunson, and sort out the rest later.
New York is staring down bigger second apron concerns in the years ahead, and Towns is going to be due for a new extension soon. That makes the timing important.
But the bigger picture is even clearer. Towns has become too central to the Knicks’ identity to treat his future like a side issue.
Brunson remains the face of the franchise. Everything flows through him.
But Towns has moved into that same upper tier of importance, even if not quite at Brunson’s level. The Knicks need that partnership intact if they want to keep building toward what they’re trying to become.
The contract situation adds another layer. Towns is under contract for this season and then holds a player option for 2027-28.
By then, he’ll likely want a new deal already lined up. That leaves the Knicks with a tough but necessary task: find the right price, keep enough flexibility, and avoid gutting the rest of the roster.
A max deal would be difficult, but the source of the problem is also the answer. Losing Towns would shake the whole structure.
His value isn’t just tied to scoring or name recognition. His connection with Brunson has grown into something far more advanced, and his development as a playmaker only makes him more important.
The Knicks’ center depth only raises the stakes. With Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti no longer on the roster, that part of the team looks thin. Let Towns walk in a year or two, and the hole gets ugly fast.
So the path forward is pretty simple: pay Brunson, pay Towns, and figure out the rest around them. Brunson’s extension won’t come with the same level of uncertainty. He’s the star, the centerpiece, the guy everything is built around.
Towns, though, matters just as much to the structure the Knicks are trying to preserve. Maybe he’d even be willing to take a small pay cut - even a fraction of the one Brunson took - to help keep the core together. Or at least part of it.
Either way, the Knicks need to be ready to do what it takes to keep Towns in New York. And keep Brunson there too.
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The recent playoffs offered a potential answer, with Karl-Anthony Towns helping to shoulder more of the offensive initiation and giving Brunson more chances to work off the ball. That shift let Brunson score more from spot-ups and other off-ball situations, and it gave New York a useful blueprint for easing his burden heading into next season without needing to remake the roster. [Read more 🡒]
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As much as he is still taking in what the run meant, Anunoby has already made his next priority clear: getting ready for the season ahead. For a Knicks team that just reached the mountaintop, that mindset matters, because the celebration can fade quickly once the target shifts from winning the championship to trying to stay there. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Face A Deuce McBride Decision With Bigger Trade Implications
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There is some real appeal in doing it now because the right kind of deal could make McBride more valuable around the league by giving another team cost certainty. New York would still have to thread the contract details carefully, but with McBrides current market value and contract expectations, a reasonable extension appears to be on the table while leaving the bigger decision for later. [Read more 🡒]