​A new report suggests that if Karl-Anthony Towns is unwilling to take a significant pay cut in his next contract, his tenure with the New York Knicks will be a lot shorter than most expect.This has been an amazing last few months for the Knicks organization. After losing back-to-back games in the opening round of the playoffs to the Atlanta Hawks, the team went on a historic run through the postseason. Crushing foes en route to beating a very talented San Antonio Spurs team in five games to bring an NBA title back to New York for the first time since 1973.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNew York’s rise to become the new NBA champions last month was so compelling and fun that it earned the team and its players five ESPY awards on Wednesday night. Including Best Team and Best Athlete for Jalen Brunson. While many players played a big role in their title run, a case could be made that Towns may have been the most pivotal.The six-time All-Star’s decision to alter his game by playing at the top of the key and being a distributor helped turn the Knicks’ offense into one of the most dominant forces in playoff history. However, he stunned many around the game when he played outstanding defense against one of the toughest players to guard on the planet, Victor Wembanyama, during the NBA Finals.Towns’ place in Knicks lore is set after their championship win, back-to-back All-Star game appearances, and reaching the conference finals last year. Yet, his long-term outlook with the team is still TBD. The big man has two years left on his contract for $57 million next season and a $61 million player option in 2027-28. If he wanted to, he could opt out and test his value on the open market in pursuit of one last big deal at 31 years old.The hope would be that the Knicks would make sure to re-sign him because of how valuable he is. But the team is already rubbing up against the second tax apron. And as The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III explained on Thursday, “Jalen Brunson will surely get an extension when the time comes. OG Anunoby still has three years left on his deal. Mikal Bridges starts his four-year contract this season, [and] Josh Hart will be extension-eligible later this summer.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt would be very costly to give Towns similar money as he is making now in a new contract and not blow by the second tax apron. Something owner James Dolan does not want to do. That is why Edwards claims the center will need to make a notable sacrifice if he wants to stick around in New York for many more years.“At some point, it feels like something has to give. Would New York really have this core locked in for another three or four years? That seems unlikely. There’s a world where Towns is the odd man out unless he takes significantly less than the max extension.”– James L. Edwards IIIWill Towns be willing to take a pay cut in the $40 to $45 million range per season? It is very possible. He would still