NBA champion center Karl-Anthony Towns is eligible to sign a new contract extension with the New York Knicks, but the powers that be aren’t budging. Now, as negotiations between the two sides have become extremely messy ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season and the Knicks’ title defense, New York trading Towns has been floated as a potential option in what would be one of the most shocking moves in recent league memory.
Towns is eligible to sign a new deal worth up to $276 million over four years, and the champion big man wants a payday. However, Knicks owner James Dolan doesn’t want to go into the second apron of the luxury tax. If the team truly wants to save money after winning the title, trading Towns is now a realistic possibility.
As ESPN’s Shams Charania recently said on the NBA Today show, the Knicks finding a move for both Towns and Josh Hart, who is also extension-eligible but has yet to agree on a deal, could be in the near future.
Knicks Could Trade Karl-Anthony Towns Amid Contract Extension Drama
Towns wants a new deal, but as the Knicks appear reluctant to even engage in discussions about a long-term extension, Charania recently revealed that he and Hart could become a trade candidate if New York is serious about saving money after winning the championship and not willing to pay two of the team’s most important pieces in the recent title run.
“This is a growing cloud around the New York Knicks,” he said. “Josh Hart has already hinted that as this gets closer to February, which is around the trade deadline, the temperature could rise if Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart himself are not extended. So far, these sides are not close.”
The top insider did say Towns would be interested in taking a pay cut on a new contract extension like his Knicks teammates previously did. However, what the Knicks are offering is reportedly a lot lower than the center feels his value truly is, which could lead to the relationship breaking apart and might eventually lead to New York trading its All-Star and All-NBA big man.
The Knicks are offering Towns $200 million rather than the $276 million he’s eligible to sign for. He has a player option after this season, but if the two sides can’t agree by the end of this year, finding a trade for Towns could be where New York looks next.
Hart is in a similar situation with a new deal, as he hasn’t been in talks for the money he feels he deserves. Both he and Towns were previously mentioned in trade rumors last season when NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo became available. But now, the trade talk could heat up once again, as it looks like the Knicks aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to keep the championship core together for the long haul.
NBA Champion Center Makes His Thoughts Clear On A New Deal
Speaking at a recent press conference, Towns was clear about how he feels on signing a new extension.
“Simply put – I want to do something to keep the team together and can work with the Knicks and also values me. And none of those things are close to happening,” Towns told reporters. “I just won a championship. You’d think it was pretty easy. Unless you guys [reporters] think I have something else to prove.”
Again, Towns is eligible for the four-year, $276 million contract extension to make him one of the highest-paid players in the NBA based on average annual value after playing a crucial role in the Knicks’ title run. And though he’s reportedly willing to take a bit less money to stay in town, New York still isn’t budging on the $200 million offer they brought to the table.
“Simply put – I want to do something to keep the team together and can work with the Knicks and also values me. And none of those things are close to happening.”
Story coming:
According to James L. Edwards of The Athletic, if Towns and the Knicks can’t agree on a new deal soon, contract negotiations could continue into the following offseason.
“The two sides are far enough apart now, per multiple league sources, that this could linger into the regular season, and perhaps beyond,” he wrote.
If a deal still isn’t signed then, or if talks have stalled way earlier, that’s when the idea of the Knicks seriously exploring a Towns trade becomes a realistic scenario.
The same could be said for Hart, who, for the time being, remains in a similar boat as his big man teammate. If the two players can’t agree with the front office and ownership on numbers everyone involved is happy with, a trade is very much on the table, and the Knicks’ championship core could get dismantled a lot quicker than it was assembled.
Towns and Hart would immediately become two of the hottest trade assets in the NBA, should New York begin to openly explore the market for the two title-winners.
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