The Knicks’ biggest contract question is being shaped less by basketball than by the NBA’s hard new financial realities.
New York is in the middle of its first 2026 free agency period as reigning champions, and Leon Rose’s front office has already spent the summer trying to keep the roster intact while staying under the salary cap’s second apron. Mitchell Robinson, Ariel Hukporti, and two-way players Trey Jemison III and Dillon Jones moved on, but the Knicks also brought back or added Jose Alvarado, Mohamed Diawara, and Landry Shamet on multi-year deals, while Jordan Clarkson returned on another one-year flier at the veteran’s minimum.
That kind of maneuvering has become the whole game across the league. With only the Denver Nuggets currently projected to open the 2026-27 regular season above the second apron, teams have clearly gotten the message about how punishing those penalties can be. So ESPN’s report that the Knicks are unlikely to extend Karl-Anthony Towns before the season doesn’t exactly come out of nowhere.
The market around top-end salaries has already been bent by stars taking less than they could have gotten. Jalen Brunson left $37 million on the table two summers ago so the Knicks could deepen the roster.
Last offseason, Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a maximum extension rather than the higher supermax rate he was eligible for, for the same reason. And this summer, Victor Wembanyama signed a similarly team-friendly extension after the San Antonio Spurs fell short against New York in the NBA Cup and Finals.
None of that forces Towns to do the same. But it does change the landscape he’s headed into when he reaches free agency in the 2027 offseason.
The league’s push to keep governors under the second apron is clearly working, at least on paper. The catch is that the burden often lands on the players, who are being asked to absorb the savings. That creates an awkward standard, especially for players who aren’t eager to sacrifice major money.
With Towns and the Knicks, though, there’s still a strong sense that the relationship is built to last. It’s hard to picture Towns walking away, and just as hard to picture Rose’s front office letting an All-NBA center get out the door. The second apron is the obstacle in the middle, and it’s the reason this has become such a delicate situation.
Still, between reporting from Stefan Bondy of the New York Post and Ian Begley of SNY, Knicks fans have been given reason to believe Towns could remain in New York long-term. That would sure be nice.
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