One factor stands to complicate Julius Randle extension talks

As the New York Knicks weigh an extension for Julius Randle, it may be hard to ask him to take much of a discount.

Randle is set to make $28.9 million this season, and has a player option for 2025-26 that he can decline to hit free agency next summer. Randle is currently extension-eligible, with a max extension coming to four years, $181 million.

Beyond Randle's tricky on-court fit with this revamped Knicks squad, there is one major issue with giving Randle a max extension: it will likely push the Knicks into the dreaded second apron, a punitive CBA measure that severely limits teams' ability to build through free agency and trades. If the Knicks hit the second apron, it will undo the team-friendly $156 million extension Jalen Brunson extension Brunson signed with the Knicks this summer — one that cost him about $113 million in the short-term.

Thus, it's been popular to suggest Randle take a discount. ESPN's front office insider Bobby Marks said he doubts the Knicks will give Randle his max .

There is one problem: there isn't necessarily a precedent on the Knicks of actually taking a discount.

Other Knicks haven't necessarily signed discounts

Sure, Brunson's $156 million extension was far cheaper than the $269 million contract he could have gotten as a free agent next summer. But the $156 million extension Brunson signed was still the max Brunson could get on an extension. Although it sets the Knicks up to avoid the second apron in the next year or two, it did also lock in immediate money for Brunson. It's the biggest contract of his career.

The Knicks also gave OG Anunoby a five-year, $212 million contract this summer. That was less than Anunoby's five-year max, but the Knicks used the built-in advantage of being able to offer a fifth year to retain Anunoby. Anunoby likely would have gotten a four-year max from another team in free agency — the Knicks added that fifth year to pay him more than other teams.

The other players on the Knicks roster haven't necessarily signed discounts; many of them have just out-performed the contracts they signed at market rates.

It's worth wondering if Randle will ask why he should give a discount to the team, especially when he has already out-performed his current four-year, $117 million deal.

We say this having no insight into Randle's thought process or feelings about these negotiations. Randle may very well be willing to take a discount.

But Randle has been a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA member, all with the Knicks. He has flourished under Tom Thibodeau.

Randle missed all of the postseason this past year with a dislocated shoulder. He watched from the sidelines as the Knicks clawed their way to within one win of the Eastern Conference Finals. Amid that run, much of the conversation revolved around how good the Knicks could be if they were healthy. Randle was the lone rotation member who didn't play a single playoff game.

In other words: everyone acknowledged that the Knicks missed Randle. Perhaps they would have made the Eastern Conference Finals if Randle had been healthy. Perhaps they would have even given the Boston Celtics a real fight in the NBA's Final Four.

So, there aren't a lot of reasons for Randle to take a discount, other than, "it would help the Knicks."

There is one factor working against Randle. If Randle declines an extension and chooses to hit free agency next summer, it's highly possible that there isn't a bigger pay day awaiting him. The Brooklyn Nets are the only team slated to have a surplus of cap space next summer, and it wouldn't make sense for a rebuilding team to offer Randle a max contract.

There are other avenues to Randle getting paid, like a sign-and-trade, but that's complicated and harder to project.

There could be a fitting compromise

There is one avenue that could satisfy all parties if Randle isn't willing to take a discount on an extension. The Knicks could have Randle play out this season, opt into his $30.9 million option for 2025-26, and agree to a max extension from there. Josh Hart took a similar route last year, opting into a player option for 2023-24, then signing a four-year, $80 million extension from there.

According to The Athletic's Fred Katz , such a max extension for Randle would have a starting salary of $43.3 million in 2026-27 — a significant raise for the then-32-year-old.

By 2026-27, the Knicks finances are slated to skyrocket, with Brunson's extension underway and a likely extension for Mikal Bridges. The Knicks might concede that their cap sheet is going to blow up anyway and grant Randle a max extension — it would just come one year later. And it would help keep the Knicks out of the second apron this season and next.

Randle the Knicks can agree on an extension at any point between now and next summer, so there isn't any immediate deadline approaching. However, finding the sweet spot for both Randle and the Knicks could take time.