Winning the NBA title did not eliminate the Knicks’ biggest offseason question – it simply shifted it to the salary cap.
New York is expected to return nearly its entire championship roster, with Mitchell Robinson’s move to the Celtics standing as the only major departure. But looming contract decisions could shape the franchise’s future.
The biggest involves Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns is set to earn about $57 million next season and has a $61 million player option for 2027-28.
He is already eligible for a four-year, $272 million extension. If he declines his player option in 2027, he could seek a four-year, $266.6 million max contract in free agency, with an even bigger payday possible by waiting another year.
Towns boosted his value by helping lead the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference finals in 25 years before playing a key role in ending the franchise’s 53-year championship drought.
His postseason performances strengthened his reputation as one of the NBA’s top big men, but paying nearly $70 million annually to someone who is not clearly the team’s top player presents a difficult decision.
Towns is currently the Knicks’ highest-paid player only because Jalen Brunson previously left roughly $113 million on the table.
Brunson becomes extension-eligible in 2028 and has already hinted at what he expects.
“Obviously we’d love for [the Knicks] to do right by me. I think anyone would. I feel like I sacrificed,” Brunson told Vanity Fair.
With OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges already signed long term, plus Josh Hart’s future also approaching, keeping the entire core together will be challenging.
The Knicks already worked to stay below the second apron this offseason, making it difficult to imagine all five starters returning on much larger contracts.
Unless Towns accepts less than the maximum, as Brunson previously did, his contract situation is likely to remain the biggest issue surrounding the defending champions.
Karl-Anthony Towns contract situation still looms over Knicks’ offseason https://t.co/iNDPHKg9vX pic.twitter.com/fM8YBu0dW0
— New York Post (@nypost) July 27, 2026
