Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride are all eligible to receive contract extensions from the NBA's 2026 Champion New York Knicks. So far, no ink has gotten close to leaving marks on a contract.
After Towns told reporters that his lack of a contract extension was surprising, given the relative lack of time left until the regular season was set to begin, he wondered if there was more that he had to prove to the organization. The Knicks responded by publicly tabling all contract negotiations until later in the season.
ESPN's Bobby Marks said he believes the statement was the result of Towns' comments "irking" James Dolan. He added on NBA Today that "scenarios have been presented to the Knicks' front office within the last month" where Towns and Hart — both CAA clients — sign extensions that keep the team under the second apron in 2028.
McBride, a client of Priority Sports & Entertainment, wasn't mentioned by Marks as part of those plans. Given the Knicks' view of the second apron as a hard cap, and Towns' ability to send the team over the second apron by accepting his player option after the 2026-27 campaign, there may not be much room in them for McBride at all.
Second apron could force Knicks to send McBride down Robinson route
With regard to Marks' claim about the Knicks' governor, it only feels fair to mention that Dolan is set to officially prove plenty of those same doubts wrong on October 20. A banner will be raised at Madison Square Garden, helping fans wash up to 53 years of pain away.
However, the contract situations of Towns, Hart, and McBride are about the near future — and trying to add to the team's collection of championship honors. In large part because of the second apron view that reporters like SNY's Ian Begley have definitively deemed a self-inflicted budgetary limit, the Knicks started their first free agency in NBA history as reigning champions by losing Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti.
The loss of Robinson to the in-division Boston Celtics made McBride the team's longest-tenured player. And if the organization continues to view the second apron as a hard cap, the guard could wind up going down the same path as his larger predecessor.
October 19th was Towns' last chance to opt into his $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season and maintain eligibility for an in-season extension of his contract. That day passed Towns and the Knicks by. Now, to extend in-season like the Knicks alluded to in that negotiation-tabling statement, the big man would have to decline that option.
There are plenty of variables for New York to sort out with regard to these potential extensions. They do have some control in the case of Hart; his $22.4 million option for the 2027-28 campaign is in the Knicks' hands, not his. However, they're already betting against the rest of the league with their downgrade at the five.
Whether or not they'll be able to survive another key loss remains to be seen. The challenge, however, would put plenty of pressure on the front office to find contributors with their already-limited draft capital.
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