For the second-straight offseason, Karl-Anthony Towns finds himself up for a new long-term extension with the New York Knicks. Unfortunately, coming to terms on what the agreeable figures could look like is far from simple.
Right now, Towns is eligible to sign a max deal worth up to $272 million over a four-year span. Of course, considering the acrobatics it took New York to dodge the dreaded second apron as is, many are under the belief that such a contract will not be offered by Leon Rose and company.
Even with these inherent hardships, SNY's Ian Begley seems rather confident that some sort of agreement will ultimately be reached between the two parties, saying that, sooner or later, "I think they get something done here."
Still, this leaves the question of what a new deal could look like unanswered, though, to the Knicks insider, Rudy Gobert's extension with the Timberwolves could be seen as the starting point.
Knicks insider sees Rudy Gobert extension as 'baseline' for new KAT deal
With the way the new CBA is set up, in order to keep winning teams together for the long haul, sacrifices unfortunately need to be made.
Begley is suggesting Towns could look to take less than the possible $68 million AAV he's currently able to earn with his next contract and, instead, take a pay cut that puts him closer to his former T-Wolves teammate's salary range, which would be "starting around $45 million," according to the insider.
Seeing a Knicks player take less than the amount he's eligible for has become somewhat of a common practice as of late, with superstar Jalen Brunson kicking off the trend back in 2024 by taking a whopping $113 million pay cut with his extension, followed by more recent examples in Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet.
Now, many believe it's Towns' turn to forfeit some dough in order to keep the band together, and Begley is hinting that seeing such a decision be made by the All-Star center is rather possible.
As the insider said, KAT just won "a timeless championship with his hometown team" and "clearly loves New York."
Barring an "insultingly-low offer" to the big man, it seems safe to assume that Towns will be the club's cornerstone pivot well beyond the final year of his current pact in 2027-28.
With the success both KAT and the Knicks have had so far in their tenure together, Begley strongly believes that "it makes sense for both sides to figure out a deal."
One in the same vein as Gobert's latest extension with Minnesota seems to be the best-case scenario for everyone involved.
Add us as a preferred source on Google