The Knicks are carrying $227.7 million in payroll, deep in tax territory, with Towns and Miles McBride both unresigned as the season opener approaches. Their extension talks stalled after Media Day, and Brooklyn already holds two future first-round selections if New York has to rebuild this core instead of re-signing it.
No Rest For Champions
New York already has the banner hanging from the rafters. Keeping this group together for a second run is the fight that actually decides the next five years. Towns and Hart stood up at Media Day on September 28 to address the extension talks, but talk is not a signature. No deal has followed.
Towns Isn't Moving
Towns averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds last season on a $57.1 million salary, the single biggest number on the books. His talks have gone quiet since that Media Day exchange with Hart. Stefan Bondy's October 2 report lumped Wiseman, Bradley and Drummond in with Towns under one word: center. The job directly behind him in the rotation is still unsettled, which only raises the price of letting this standoff drag.
McBride's Patience Wears
McBride called himself 'a little disappointed' by the talks on September 26. He averaged 12.0 points in 41 games last season, cheap production on a roster already loaded with expensive names. A September 30 headline grouped him with Towns and Randle again, still without a number attached. He is the kind of deal that gets squeezed when the money above him doesn't move.
No Picks To Fall Back On
New York's 2027 and 2029 first-round picks already belong to Brooklyn, with swaps attached in 2028 and 2029 on top of that. There's no lottery ticket waiting to replace whoever walks. Every dollar spent to keep Towns or McBride comes directly from an already full room, not from future stock still on the shelf.
Pick Towns, Brace For The Rest
The numbers point one way. Towns is a 20-and-12 center at $57.1 million who anchors everything else on this roster, including the muddled competition at his own position. McBride is a quality backup guard, not a max piece. If the money runs out before both deals get done, expect Towns to get paid first and McBride to test what the rest of the league will offer. That's the price of this apron era: this group wins now, or it starts losing its depth piece by piece.
Will the Knicks re-sign Towns before the season?
Not yet. Towns and Josh Hart addressed the stalled talks at Media Day on September 28, but no new contract has been reported since.
What is Miles McBride's extension situation?
Unresolved. McBride called himself 'a little disappointed' by the talks on September 26, and a September 30 report still named him without a resolved number.
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