Karl-Anthony Towns Says He Would Take a Pay Cut to Keep the Knicks Together
Towns told ESPN's Malika Andrews he would accept less than the maximum to stay with the defending champion Knicks, even as the team has paused extension talks and the two sides remain far apart on the numbers.
Karl-Anthony Towns said he would accept less money on his next contract to stay with the New York Knicks. “Because I want this team to stay together,” the 30-year-old center said in a joint interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, recorded alongside teammate Jalen Brunson. “That’s always been my main priority was to keep everyone here, to keep this core, this special team that we have. So, it was the first thing on my mind… there was nowhere in my mind a max was even thought of.”
Brunson, last season’s Finals MVP, answered the same question with three words. Asked what he hoped to see from Towns, he said, “Sign the contract,” smiling as Towns laughed beside him.
A wide gap and a frozen negotiating table
The goodwill has not closed the distance. Towns is in the final guaranteed year of his contract at a $57 million cap hit and holds a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season. He is eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $276 million that would keep him in New York through 2030-31, according to ESPN, but the Knicks’ latest offer was a four-year extension worth about $200 million, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported in early October.
Towns has said he is willing to take less, but not what the Knicks have asked for. Andrews reported on NBA Today that Towns felt the team’s asking price was “unreasonable.” Before the preseason, Towns said the chances of signing an extension before opening night did not “look good,” and when asked whether he should be rewarded for helping deliver the franchise’s first championship in 53 years, he replied, “No s–t, Sherlock,” according to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy.
The Knicks announced in early October that all contract extension talks would be paused “until later in the season.” Towns said Oct. 12 that the decision was news to him. “Very disappointed to say the least,” he said. “Let’s state the obvious: It’s business, but there is business on the court for us to handle.”
The payroll problem in the background
The pause reflects a salary crunch. Knicks governor James Dolan said this summer he is unwilling to go above the NBA’s second luxury tax apron even to keep the championship roster intact, per ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill. The Knicks are projected to come in just under that line this season, according to Spotrac, but staying there will be harder: Towns, Josh Hart, Miles McBride and Tyler Kolek are all eligible for extensions, with a negotiating deadline of June 30, while Brunson, who took a pay cut on his last deal, becomes eligible for his own four-year, $257 million maximum extension next summer.
The stakes are plain. Towns averaged 15.9 points and 10.6 rebounds across 19 playoff games during the Knicks’ run to the title. A star willing to leave tens of millions on the table would give team president Leon Rose room to keep more of that roster together, but only if the two sides can first agree on what the discount looks like.
Reporting based on coverage by Bleacher Report and ESPN.
