While the New York Knicks aren’t necessarily handling Karl-Anthony Towns extension negotiations with banner behavior, their decision to play hardball makes a lot more sense now that rival suitors are being discussed. Not only are none of them as good as the reigning champs, but the vast majority of them aren’t even remotely close to title contention.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst name-checked the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors as possible suitors for KAT. One Eastern Conference executive also told the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy that the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, or Brooklyn Nets could work their way into the fold as well.
If you were wondering why the Knicks refuse to offer Towns more than $45 million to $50 million per year in an extension, this is it.
A true threat to sign Karl-Anthony Towns has yet to emerge
Despite the recent shift toward ho-hum free-agency movement, there will be a handful of teams with the scratch to give Towns more than a four-year, $200 million contract. A max deal with a suitor that isn’t New York projects to top out at four years and $265 million. Having already won a title, perhaps KAT prioritizes the dollar figure (and the respect it infers) over contention.
But he can’t have both. That much is clear when running through the list of prospective alternatives.
Signing with Brooklyn wouldn’t require relocating. It would also leave Towns to headline a squad built around him, Egor Demin, Mike Brown Jr., and Julius Randle. That’s a 10-seed pretending it can be a six-seed if we’ve ever seen one.
Linking up with Cooper Flagg in Dallas is somewhat intriguing. He and Towns are in many ways perfect complements. But the Mavs are only going to be a cap-space squad if Kyrie Irving declines his player option, or they shed a bunch of other salary, including the rights to Dereck Lively II, Max Christie, and Santi Aldama (team option). Either way, the roster that Towns joins would be hollowed out to make room for him.
The Clippers are more likely than anyone to carve out the space required to throw Towns a max deal. That might pique his attention…until he realizes the Clippers don’t have their own first-round pick again until Armageddon.
Nobody is losing sleep over the Warriors these days. Playing with Stephen Curry would be a dream, but he’ll be 39 entering next season. After locking in Brandin Podziemski, Golden State may also have to get rid of both Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green to facilitate KAT’s arrival. Unless Yaxel Lendeborg morphs into an immediate star, the resulting core won’t have an obvious path to the top of the West.
To the Hawks’ credit, they were the only squad to beat the Knicks twice in last year’s playoffs. Has anyone ever told you that before? They probably are the most intriguing suitor from this gaggle. But a KAT-Jalen Johnson frontcourt will be shaky on defense, and Atlanta won’t have an A-plus initiator like Jalen Brunson unless Kingston Flemings sprouts a unicorn horn.
The truth about the Knicks’ offer to KAT
Even after all Towns did during last season’s championship push, the Knicks still have the upper hand in negotiations. Callous though it may be, they are using that leverage to their advantage.
Sure, they could do a better job of navigating talks. The now-infamous press release on shutting down extension negotiations was beyond dumb. But that doesn’t mean they’re misreading Towns’ market.
At least for now, in fact, the Knicks are interpreting the market perfectly. They know it’s borderline impossible for Towns to get more money and be on a team as good as the one he currently reps.
Whether that results in him accepting what’s on the table is debatable. It does, however, increase the likelihood both sides find a middle ground that’s closer to where the Knicks are standing now.
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