Towns, Knicks Expected To Discuss Extension This Offseason

That may be true whether or not the Knicks win the championship, but Amick suggests a Finals victory would bolster Towns’ odds of signing a lucrative long-term deal. The former No. 1 overall pick will make $57.1MM next season and holds a $61MM player option for ’27/28, which he would need to decline to sign an extension this summer worth up to a projected $272MM over four years.

Amick suggests the star big man is unlikely to receive that full max, given the Knicks already have a high payroll that projects to get more expensive next season. Mitchell Robinson is reportedly expected to receive a good deal of external interest this summer, and Landry Shamet, a key reserve, will be an unrestricted free agent as well. The Knicks could have up to 10 free agents, including all of three of their two-way players.

Towns has outplayed Spurs star Victor Wembanyama so far to help the Knicks go up 2-0 on the road in the NBA Finals, with Game 3 set for Monday in New York. This is the third time in history the road team has won the first two games of the Finals; unsurprisingly, the previous two clubs — the 1993 Bulls and 1995 Rockets — went on to win the championship (Twitter link via the NBA).

Teams that have won the first two road playoff games in a seven-game series have gone on to win those series 27 out of 31 times since 1984, Amick notes.

Less than a year ago, the Knicks decided to table extension talks with Towns, who still still had three years on his contract at the time, per Amick. Shortly thereafter, his name popped in trade rumors involving Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Towns was floated as a possible trade candidate again in January when New York had a mid-season slump after the team’s NBA Cup victory over San Antonio the month before.

Now Towns has a chance to cement his name as a Knicks legend after helping to lead the team to 13 consecutive playoff wins, the second-longest streak in NBA history (the Warriors won 15 straight in 2017) (Twitter link). They’ve won eight straight road contests during this stretch, tied for the longest road winning streak in playoff history.

Towns, 30, has the best on/off numbers of all the Knicks’ rotation regulars in the playoffs, Amick observes. Through 16 games, he’s averaging 17.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals in 30.7 minutes per contest. He has posted an elite .570/.481/.900 shooting line while providing strong defense.