Where These Three Knicks Stand in Contract Extension Negotiations

This season, the New York Knicks are projected to be a contender to win the Eastern Conference again, and they spent their offseason bringing key pieces back to the roster after winning a championship. 

Now, the front office has three more important pieces that are eligible for extensions. Center Karl-Anthony Towns and guards Josh Hart and Miles McBride are all eligible for extensions this season, and it will be interesting to see how they will handle negotiations with the regular season approaching. 

According to NBA insider Ian Begley, the Knicks will likely not extend all three players before the beginning of the regular season. While each player is important to the Knicks, all of them stand in different places in contract negotiations. 

For Towns, it's been reported that he's looking for a new deal as soon as possible, but he has not liked what's been offered to him up to this point. Since his arrival in 2024, New York has gone on two deep playoff runs. In their championship run, his versatility on defense was also a big part of their success. 

New York's frontcourt became a real strength for them in the last two seasons, and they may not be able to afford losing Towns. 

For Miles McBride, he might have the lowest odds of coming back of the three players. McBride has been productive during his time in New York, as he has been a threat on the perimeter on both ends of the court. 

McBride has had his ups and downs in the NBA, but in their championship run, he had big moments that gave a lot of energy to the Knicks. He was a reliable shooter, and in Game 4 of the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, he had a hot start and finished the game with 7 made three-point shots. 

If McBride can make a significant difference in 2026-2027, the Knicks could see him as an important piece of this team's future. 

Josh Hart is in a similar situation to McBride, but given the fact he has been a full-time starter during the Knicks' recent success, he likely has a higher chance of landing a new extension. 

Hart has made a big impact on both ends of the floor, but he's done the dirty work for New York. Hart has been known to be one of the best rebounding guards in the NBA, and during their championship run, he came up with timely plays on defense that allowed the Knicks to pull away in games.  

Hart has said that he would like to get an extension done before the season, as he does not want to think about negotiations during the regular season. It will be interesting to see how much the Knicks value Josh Hart and company moving forward.