Alexander Wilson
The Knicks did the hard part by beating San Antonio for the title. The Spurs just got one of the few consolation prizes that actually matters: Victor Wembanyama on a five-year, $252 million extension with enough breathing room to keep building.
Wembanyama could have pushed for a richer supermax path. Instead, the deal lands at the 25% max, with a player option in year five and roughly $50 million in savings compared with the 30% escalator route. If you are the Knicks, that should be annoying.
San Antonio already had the hardest part of team-building handled. Now its best player also helped the front office keep more room around him.
Nobody in New York needs to panic over it. The cleaner read is that the Finals opponent is not going away.
Why the Knicks should watch the discount
Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.08 blocks, and 1.03 steals last season, then walked into the Finals before the Knicks shut the door in five games. He is already a title-level problem, and San Antonio has no reason to stop hunting for help.
The Knicks still have the trophy, Brunson, Towns, Bridges, Anunoby, and the kind of depth that survived the whole playoff run. They do not need to panic because another contender kept its superstar.
The rivalry gets more expensive from here
The part that should bother New York is the timing. The Knicks are dealing with their own extension choices, Towns now and Brunson later, while the Spurs just locked in the league’s most unusual player at a number that leaves them room to keep adding around him.
New York earned the right to act like the team to beat. San Antonio just made sure the next few years will not be comfortable.
The Knicks can handle that. They already handled Wembanyama once. But if the Spurs use this discount well, the rematch could come with a deeper, nastier roster waiting on the other side.
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