Karl-Anthony Towns just helped deliver the New York Knicks their first NBA title in 53 years. Yet, there’s still some unfinished business between him and the front office behind the scenes.
According to NBA insider Vincent Goodwill, the Knicks’ decision not to offer Towns a contract extension during the 2025-26 season bothered the big man. And now that he’s helped deliver a championship, it’s time for the Knicks to pay up.
“Go back to during the season when Karl-Anthony Towns wanted an extension from the Knicks. The Knicks did not offer him one, he was disappointed. But he says he wants to be a Knick for life. He said, ‘These are the things that handle themselves in the offseason as long as I handle things on the floor.’ The Knicks won a championship. Karl-Anthony Towns was the hub. He’s expecting some resolution to that soon,” Goodwill said.
Towns is entering the final guaranteed season of his contract for 2026-27, set to earn $57.1 million, with a $61 million player option for 2027-28. He’s already extension-eligible, and the maximum deal the Knicks could offer him is a four-year deal worth $272 million — an average of $68 million annually.
If no deal gets done and Towns decides to decline his option and test free agency next summer, you can bet contenders would line up to pay the 30-year-old center. Towns is a six-time All-Star and averaged 20.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 31 minutes across 75 games last season with the Knicks.
There’s real pressure to get a deal done sooner rather than later because the contracts are already starting to pile up. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby will both become eligible for new deals next year, and by that point the price for Towns might only go up.