Karl-Anthony Towns is entering the final guaranteed season (2026-27) of his contract with the Knicks. He is set to earn $57.1 million in the coming season and has a $61 million player option for 2027-28.
The newly-crowned NBA champion has been eligible for an extension with the Knicks since last summer. The fact that the Knicks’ front office did not initiate extension negotiations with him last summer had apparently stuck with him, and he has not gotten over it to this day.
According to ESPN’s senior NBA writer, Vincent Goodwill, the Knicks’ center still seems to have an issue he needs to sort out with the front office before negotiations go any further.
“Well, if you think about it, the reason that Karl Towns is a New York Knick is that his contract in Minnesota was such that it placed the Timberwolves in the second apron. They couldn’t afford to keep him, so they had to trade him,” said Goodwill during his recent appearance on Get Up on ESPN.
“That was not a basketball trade for Minnesota. That was a money trade, and it just so happened to work out that the Knicks were the beneficiaries of that. Do you want to place yourself in the same situation where you get your money, and then you wind up putting yourself on the chopping block? That’s what this second apron has done to players.”
“And if I’m Karl Towns, remember they had the opportunity to extend him at the start of the season. They did not. It stuck with him. I don’t think he’s gotten over that. So, let’s see how this plays out. I’m curious.”
NBA fans saw this take on social media and heavily criticized Vincent Goodwill since he’s claiming this at a time when the Knicks have won a championship, and Towns is on a public relations run where everywhere he goes, he says he loves New York and the team.
“There is nobody visibly happier with their life than him. Keep note of the people that make s–t up for clicks and don’t buy their crap.”
“And yet another person we never heard of before four weeks ago, providing us with “expert opinion & analysis” regarding the Knicks.”
“This guy looked like the happiest Knick all playoffs.”
“KAT is the happiest man in the world. Did you even watch the playoff run/championship/parade?”
“Sure, winning a title didn’t change his mind even a little bit, right?”
Several such reactions on social media called out the absurdity of such claims from Vincent Goodwill. But the main subject of interest here remains the future of Towns in New York.
According to Brian Windhorst, Towns will need to take a $7-$10 million pay cut to keep the team together and avoid the second apron. James Dolan has emphasized earlier that staying outside the second apron is the key focus for the Knicks.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see what Towns does in terms of negotiating his contract extension. But as for the rumors of him still not being over the front office’s decision not to negotiate his extension last summer, I also doubt that there is any substance to such claims.
