The most controversial opinion in basketball today is not that the defending New York Knicks should trade Karl-Anthony Towns. It is that they may eventually have no choice.
The Knicks finally delivered a championship to New York behind a core of Towns, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. Under the NBA's old financial system, a title would have marked the beginning of a potential dynasty. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, it may mark the beginning of a countdown.
The numbers are already flashing red. The Knicks have approximately $218.4 million committed in payroll for the 2026-27 season, leaving them just $3.3 million below the NBA's second apron. Their five highest-paid players account for nearly $192 million alone: Towns at $57.1 million, Anunoby at $42.5 million, Brunson at $37.7 million, Bridges at $33.5 million and Hart at $20.9 million.
The situation becomes even more daunting when considering Towns' future. He has a $61 million player option for 2027-28 and is eligible for a four-year extension worth approximately $272 million. That would push his earnings close to $70 million annually during the life of the deal.
This is where fans often misunderstand the second apron. The issue is not simply whether ownership is willing to write a larger check. Wealthy owners can survive luxury taxes. What they cannot easily survive are the roster-building restrictions that accompany the second apron. Teams lose flexibility in trades, lose access to key mechanisms for adding talent and risk having future draft assets frozen. The league deliberately designed the system to make it extraordinarily difficult to keep expensive championship rosters together.
If that sounds theoretical, look no further than the Boston Celtics. After winning the 2024 NBA championship, Boston appeared positioned to contend for years. Instead, the organization found itself facing a projected payroll and luxury-tax bill approaching $500 million if it kept its championship core intact last season. Team president Brad Stevens acknowledged that second-apron restrictions played a major role in the franchise's decisions, eventually leading to the departures of key contributors, including Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis last season.
Think about that for a moment. A championship team was not broken up because it failed. It was broken up because it became too expensive to sustain.
That reality should terrify Knicks fans.
Brunson is untouchable. He is the face of the franchise and the emotional leader of the locker room. Bridges and Anunoby are precisely the type of elite two-way wings every contender covets. Hart remains the embodiment of the grit and culture that transformed New York from a hopeful contender into a champion.
That leaves Towns.
This is not a criticism of his talent. In fact, it is because of his talent and salary that he becomes the most logical trade candidate. He is the Knicks' highest-paid player, carries tremendous market value and could potentially return the depth, flexibility and future assets needed to extend New York's championship window.
Twenty years ago, NBA front offices asked a simple question: How do we build a dynasty? Today, the better question may be this: Which star should we trade before the second apron forces us to?
The Knicks won a championship with Karl-Anthony Towns, and that achievement can never be diminished. But banners do not repeal arithmetic. If New York waits until his contract becomes deadweight, the market will dictate the return, the second apron will dictate the roster and nostalgia will dictate the franchise’s decline. The Knicks must choose before the choice is made for them. Keep Towns and celebrate another title—or trade him while they still can and chase the dynasty New York has waited half a century to see.
raffyrledesma@yahoo.com
