Victor Wembanyama signed a five-year, $252 million extension with the San Antonio Spurs when he could have inked a deal that potentially paid him $302 million. The New York Knicks should be thrilled a star of his caliber possibly took less. It might ensure that Karl-Anthony Towns does the same.
To be sure, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year would only be eligible for $302 million if he repeated as DPOY, won MVP, or made an All-NBA team next season. Given that he just ran away with DPOY, finished third in MVP, and earned First Team All-NBA honors this past year, this stipulation would have been more of a formality.
Wemby is, in essence, pulling a Jalen Brunson: accepting what comes out to over $10 million less per year than he could have, despite entrenching himself as a superstar. And like JB before him, Wemby may have set a precedent for other stars, such as Towns.
New York's big man is eligible to sign a four-year extension that could be worth around $273 million. The hope has long been that he would be willing to sign for less. The question was, and still is: How much less?
Wemby may have just delivered the answer.
Karl-Anthony Towns accepting a downgraded max is a dream scenario for the Knicks
San Antonio got Wembanyama to sign a 25 percent max when he could have put pen to paper on a 30 percent pact. The Knicks should try something similar with Towns.
His max extension pays out 35 percent of the cap, with a projected starting salary of $60.9 million in 2027-28. But New York could sell him on a deal worth 30 percent of the cap, which would effectively be a downgraded max. It’s the full freight someone with seven-to-nine years of experience can receive.
That 5 percent may not sound like much. Yet, we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars. In this scenario, instead of a four-year deal worth $273 million, Towns would sign for $233.4 million, with an estimated salary of $52.2 million in 2027-28.
This is a pretty big chunk of change to shave off each year. Just look at how much New York would save per season if Towns signs for 30 percent of the cap versus 35 percent:
- 2027-28: $8.7 million
- 2028-29: $9.4 million
- 2029-30: $10.1 million
- 2030-31: $10.8 million
This basically averages out to one bench-rotation player per year. Given the thin financial lines in which the front office is attempting to color, gaining that kind of flexibility could help the team avoid the second apron owner James Dolan won’t enter without having to incur as much collateral damage.
There is a difference between Towns and Wembanyama
Wembanyama’s situation is not a perfect analog for Towns and New York. That’s actually a good thing for the Knicks.
Wemby is just starting out. He isn’t even operating at the peak of his powers, and this is his first big deal. His market was always going to be “no-brainer max.”
Towns is approaching a different phase of his career. He’ll be in his age-32 season when a theoretical extension takes effect. A four-year deal runs through his age-35 campaign. While his game should age relatively well, the inevitability of a drop-off near the end of his next contract could give the Knicks enough leverage to request that he take an even larger discount than Wemby.
What that looks like remains to be seen. A four-year, $200 million extension would be ideal, and save the Knicks nearly $15 million per season relative to his max. But using that as the starting point mere months after Towns was the second- or third-most important player on a title team could be insulting.
New York needs to strike the balance between looking out for its future interests and understanding how critical KAT is to the short- and medium-term program. Fortunately for the front office, Wemby’s discount gives them a baseline they can work off—and perhaps even beat in the end.
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