If money is what’s holding up Karl-Anthony Towns extension talks, the NBA increasing 2027-28 salary-cap projections by $2 million could be just what the New York Knicks need to get negotiations across the finish line. Because believe it or not, this $2 million bump allows them to offer the big man almost $9 million more without compromising their runway beneath the second apron.
To be sure, we have not received official word that KAT and the Knicks are at a financial impasse. But that friction is implied. Even if it’s not a contentious negotiation, New York’s refusal to enter the second apron adds an underlying conflict to every contract situation.
Towns’ extension eligibility is no different. He has a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season. Everyone assumes he will decline it and accept a lower number in service of helping the Knicks keep the core together, and guaranteeing himself a meatier chunk of change over the longer haul.
It nevertheless remains to be seen how much less he’s willing to accept. While the current state of free agency gives the Knicks plenty of leverage, Towns has only made himself more desirable after helping spearhead the team’s historic championship run. He may not want to leave as much money on the table as people think.
Fortunately, the latest salary-cap adjustments make it more likely he and the team can find a middle ground.
The Knicks can now raise their total offer to Towns by almost $10 million
Increasing the cap projections by $2 million will also raise the second-apron threshold by $2 million. That isn’t money the Knicks can spend on anyone. But it does mean they can raise their best offer to Towns by $2 million per season without bringing themselves closer to the second-apron threshold.
Let’s game it out using one of the most recent predictions for how this ends. Stefan Bondy of the New York Post guessed that Towns would sign a four-year, $180 million extension. If such a deal includes standard raises, the star center’s 2027-28 salary would check in just under $40.2 million—a $20.8 million drop from his $61 million player option.
Any way you slice it, no matter how much Towns might care about winning over money, this is a lot of coin.
However!
If the Knicks trust the league’s latest projections, they can bring Towns’ 2027-28 salary in this scenario to $42.2 million. Suddenly, if we assume standard 8 percent raises, his four-year extension goes from $180 million to almost $189 million.
This is a small but meaningful victory for the Knicks
A 5 percent bump in total contract value isn’t nothing. And a $9 million difference has an even better chance of bridging whatever gap might exist between Towns and the Knicks if their actual offer is higher than the $180 million hypothetical.
If Josh Hart, for instance, is going to lower his $22.4 million salary in 2027-28 as part of his own extension, this $2 million cap adjustment could enable the Knicks to guarantee Towns more than $200 million over four years—all without diminishing their intended flexibility below the second apron.
Time will tell whether this seemingly small tweak from the NBA ends up fast-tracking and optimizing New York’s extension talks. The fact it can even have that impact, though, is a victory unto itself.
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