The New York Knicks have earned the right to have a quiet offseason. Champions get to do what they want. Yet, the 7-foot elephant in the room still looms over New York as it continues to take its laps around the dog days of the NBA calendar.Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns is eligible for a four-year, $272 million contract extension. That is the most that the soon-to-be 31-year-old can receive from the Knicks. Towns was extension eligible last offseason. However, nothing came to fruition between the two sides. Towns will make just over $57 million this coming season and has a player option worth just over $61 million the following year before his contract expires.One thing I’m certain of is that New York’s decision-makers will offer Towns an extension. What I’m not certain of, and don’t expect, is whether the cash-conscious Knicks will offer him a max contract.What I'm watching at Knicks Summer LeagueJames L. Edwards III and Jeshua KiddIt’s been well-documented how much Jalen Brunson left on the table to secure his future while giving New York the flexibility to build the team that hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy just a few months ago. Brunson’s sacrifice, which helped lead the Knicks to their first NBA title in 53 years, has now become a talking point in the NBA sphere.Should stars give up money like Brunson to win? Victor Wembanyama recently left money on the table.Now, Towns finds himself in a similar position to the one Brunson was in a few years ago, and the fact that the two are teammates casts somewhat of an unfair spotlight on the three-time All-NBA selection.Here, from the vantage point of the suits in New York, I’m going to look at the pros and cons of giving Towns a max extension.ProsTowns, in theory, deserves itSay what you want about big men not aging well, his difficulties fitting in under head coach Mike Brown and the strategy behind not giving players max contracts, but the Knicks became title contenders when Towns arrived in Manhattan. I’m not saying he’s the sole reason — please don’t think I’m saying that. However, he’s been a big reason why New York entered a different echelon the last two seasons.In Towns’ first season with the Knicks, New York made its first Eastern Conference finals appearance in a quarter century. This year, well, yeah … we know what happened.Towns surely recognizes that organizations should, at some point, reward winning players. Despite the label that’s been attached to him, Towns has reached at least the conference finals in each of the last three seasons, including the Western Conference finals in his final year in Minnesota. He’s a winner.Players should try to get as much money as possible. It’s not Towns’ fault that the system is set up this way. Brunson is going to eventually get rewarded financially for his previous sacrifice.