Karl-Anthony Towns has two more years left on his contract, as well as a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season. He is currently eligible to sign a two-year extension, worth just under $150 million. While Towns is a crucial part of this team, fans shouldn't expect the team to lock in that much added money before they find out what the ceiling of this roster is.
Speaking on the Zach Lowe Show, Sam Amick of The Athletic explained that he didn't see any urgency from the Knicks to get a deal done. Towns is locked up for a couple more seasons; it doesn't make sense for the Knicks to commit to paying him roughly $75 million per season in his mid-thirties without first knowing how all the new pieces fit together.
The Knicks think this is the right group
Last season, the Knicks got to their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, which says something about the roster. When they moved on from Tom Thibodeau, it was the front office and ownership's way of saying "we have the right players, we just need to find the right person to lead them."
They doubled down on that stance by extending Mikal Bridges with a four-year, $150 million deal, after they traded five first-round picks to acquire the two-way wing last summer.
Then, they went even further, addressing some of the biggest weaknesses that the roster had last season by making moves in free agency. They added Jordan Clarkson, Guerschon Yabusele, and several other vets on non-guaranteed deals. Not only should this give some serious punch to what was the worst bench unit in the league last year, but it should also help address their 3-point shooting deficiencies.
Towns should be able to understand
Waiting on an extension has very little to do with Towns, right now that is. The Knicks will be paying him more than $170 million over the next few seasons if he ends up picking up his player option.
New York is pinned right up against the second apron, and likely won't want to dip their toes in it until they are sure that this is the right group to do that. They also have more pressing immediate negotiations to handle. Towns' fellow center, Mitchell Robinson, is set to be an unrestricted free agent after the season. That situation will need to be resolved before the Knicks think about the tail end of Towns' deal.