However, James Edwards III of The Athletic reports that the two sides are nevertheless fairly far apart, with the Knicks’ latest offer said to be in the four-year, $200M range.
“It don’t look good,” Towns said after team shoot-around Monday. “…Simply put, I want to do something that can keep the team together and work with the Knicks and (which) also values me. None of those things have come close to happening.”
Towns may feel disrespected by the negotiations, but in this case the Knicks might actually be justified in waiting. The star center does have a $61m player option available to him after this season, and it would be surprising to see him forego that money in favor of testing free agency if nothing comes together.
But more importantly, Towns might be showing the very first signs of decline as he enters his age-31 season. He averaged 20.1 points per game in the regular season last year, the lowest mark of this NBA career since winning Rookie of the Year with 18.3 PPG in 2015-16, albeit alongside a dip in his usage rate as well, from 27.3% in 2024-25 to 25.8% in 2025-26, according to StatMuse.
That decline could just be normal variance, especially when considered alongside the six-time All-Star’s exceptional postseason performance this past summer. But from the perspective of a front office trying to decide whether or not to keep him around until age 35, it makes sense to wait a while and see whether KAT corrects or continues the drop-off.
Knicks should not be afraid of the second apron
That all being said, it doesn’t seem as though New York’s front office is in “wait-and-see” mode at all. Instead, all signs point to a simple aversion to spending money in general.
Knicks owner James Dolan stated after the Finals that he would not allow his team to go into the second apron, a mechanism written into the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union that restricts the moves that high-spending teams are allowed to make.
This would be a mistake. The second apron does not multiply a team’s luxury tax bill to the league, but instead merely limits them from excessively adding to, or otherwise breaking up, a superstar team once it’s put together. For the Knicks, Towns alongside co-stars Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby certainly seem like players worth keeping around.
New York wouldn’t be the first team to balk at life above the second apron since its institution in 2023. But if the NBA is ever going to break out of its “Parity Era” of eight different champions in eight years running, it may have to start with one defending champion committing to dance with the ones that brought them.