All throughout the 2025-26 season, the state of affairs between the New York Knicks and star center Karl-Anthony Towns has been examined under a microscope.
From the harboring of hard feelings toward the front office for being included in offseason trade proposals for Giannis Antetokounmpo to owner James Dolan's public commitment to keeping this core intact beyond the February 5 deadline, this relationship between big man and ball club has proven to be an unpredictable roller coaster ride of emotions here in year two.
At this point, it's truly anyone's guess how long this union will last, though come the summer, the long-term picture is bound to become a whole lot clearer, as Towns will be able to sign a new, long-term extension with New York.
Knicks to make the ultimate Karl-Anthony Towns decision this summer
Directly following the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Finals, Towns will join a slew of All-Stars strewn across the league as being eligible for a new, multi-year re-up with their respective teams.
For the 30-year-old specifically, he'd be allowed to sign for roughly $260 million over a four-year stretch and, whether it's at the max value or somewhere just below it, Towns himself has already made it clear that he's eager to put pen to paper.
"Hell yeah. Hell yeah, I want to stay here," Towns said back in December.
The only question is, are the Knicks equally as enthusiastic about such a scenario?
Simply put, the ultimate deciding factor in whether these two parties wind up committing to one another for the long haul will come during their upcoming postseason run.
As things currently stand, the Knicks boast the best odds of coming out of the Eastern Conference and the fourth-best odds of taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy this year.
Considering this, coupled with the fact that they just made it to the conference finals a season ago, anything short of a title-round berth should be seen as a letdown, which, in theory, could light a fire under Leon Rose to shake things up.
Considering his role as second fiddle behind Jalen Brunson, any shortcomings from Towns in the playoffs will likely come back to bite New York, which, in turn, would likely only increase their chances of enduring yet another upsetting, earlier-than-desired exit.
Needless to say, such an outcome would almost certainly lead Rose and company back to pursuing Giannis or another big-time talent on the offseason trade market, which would presumably require giving up KAT to make the finances work.
The Knicks have only a few short months to make up their mind on the future of the Towns experiment. Even though he still has two more years left on his current deal, this summer will tell fans all they need to know about where the organization stands.