Through 12 games played here in the 2026-27 NBA season, New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns has seemingly been playing as if he's trying to earn the last contract of his career.
In a way, this is kind of the case.
At just 31 years old, there's no doubt Towns still has plenty of seasons left to play in the association. However, considering long-standing league-wide trends, his next payday is widely expected to be the last big one of his playing career.
For most players not named, say, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, the age range from late 20s to early 30s is when a final big-time deal is generally inked, as a decline in production usually comes following roughly a decade-long sample size of playing at such a high level.
Now in his 12 season, Towns is certainly on the cusp of entering this long-documented trajectory for players, though, a month into the season, he still appears to be on the right side of things as he's producing to a ridiculous tune of 21.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from deep.
Right now, Towns is eligible to sign a brand new $276 million max extension with the Knicks and is playing like he's worth every penny.
Karl-Anthony Towns willing to take slightly less to stay with Knicks
As has been well documented starting back during the offseason, the Knicks are unwilling to shell out the full max offer to Towns due, in large part, to owner James Dolan's reluctance to have the team exceed the second apron threshold.
Though this is almost certainly a major bummer for KAT to hear, especially considering this is universally believed to be his last time to cash in at such a high-end rate, reports are that he's willing to take a pay cut in order to stay in the Big Apple long-term.
The only problem is that the two sides seem rather far apart when it comes to what a respectable offer looks like.
By all accounts, Towns has been open to the idea of shedding somewhere in the $10 to $20 million range off his next contract. The Knicks, however, have gone so far as to take a whopping $76 million off of one of their more recent offers.
Though Towns still holds a player option worth $61 million for next season, and while New York still has until June 30 to reach an agreement on an extension, considering the way the big man's been playing, his potential asking price is increasing with every passing day and could easily net him a lofty new deal elsewhere in the free agent market next summer.
The Knicks need to come to their senses sooner rather than later before they push KAT to the point where he fully commits to pricing himself out of New York entirely.
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