The New York Knicks are entering into a precarious position in the coming years when it comes to their financial situation and whether or not they'll be able to afford to keep their championship core together could almost entirely depend on center Karl-Anthony Towns. 

Towns is among key players who is eligible for a major contract extension, but considering that the Knicks are up against the second apron, the idea of having to pay all of those players their max extension amount would certainly put the Knicks over that limit and in turn force the Knicks to have to part ways with major pieces of the team. 

To avoid having to blow up the roster, at least one extension eligible player would have to take a more team-friendly contract and Towns stands out as the most likely candidate. 

Guard Jalen Brunson likely won't be the player to take the discount, considering that he's already done that once before and has dropped hints that he's looking for a major payday that matches his sacrifices and the results they've brought. 

Guards Josh Hart and Miles McBride are both eligible for extensions as well, and while both of them taking team-friendly deals would certainly help the Knicks' situation, the total values of their potential contracts would't make enough of an impact should New York receive discounts on them. 

Towns is in the perfect middle ground of a player that is due for a major contract extension and could do the Knicks a major favor by taking less than what he could earn. According to speculation by ESPN insider Brian Windhorst, the stars could align for Towns to take the contract that the Knicks need from him.

"Even though there may be a hard feeling or two between the front office and Karl in the coming months about this, ultimately I think this is gonna get done because Karl is represented by CAA, and CAA and the Knicks are like this," Windhorst said (via HoopsHype). "[Knicks general manager] Leon Rose used to be his agent."

The heart of Windhorst's speculation is related to the fact that Towns has a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season and should he pick up, the Knicks would already be in the second apron. To avoid that reality, Towns would have to decline that option and have it absorbed into an extension for a lower average annual value. 

Towns has clearly built up a connection with his Knicks teammates over the past two seasons and if his representation's relationship with the Knicks is as strong as Windhorst claims, then there are plenty of reasons to suggest that Towns could be willing to accept a downgrade in his pay if it means keeping the team together. 

The Knicks will need that to be true if they want any hope of being able to plausibly avoid deconstructing the roster they've fought so hard to keep together and in turn sustain their chances at winning another champion.