In an effort to quiet the talk around contract extensions for Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart — talks that were becoming a distraction less than two weeks before they raise a championship banner in Madison Square Garden — the New York Knicks announced they are tabling all extension talks with eligible players until later in the season.
Through a spokesman, the Knicks released this statement:
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“As an organization, our entire focus is on preparing for the upcoming season and delivering another year for our fans to be proud of. As a result, we will not be negotiating contract extensions until later in the season and will remain solely focused on preparing for the start of the season.”
This applies to four players: Towns, Hart, and guards Miles McBride and Tyler Kolek.
How big an issue has Towns’ frustration with contract talks become? Last night, after the NBA TV broadcast of the Knicks vs. Wizards preseason game, NBA Insider Chris Haynes gave another update on contract extension talks between Towns and the Knicks (echoing earlier reports that Towns wasn’t asking for the max, but the sides were far apart). That’s on the NBA’s own network. Questions about extensions for Towns and Hart have become a near-daily talking point around the team.
Postponing the talks may quiet things for a while and cool the rhetoric a little, but it doesn’t resolve the underlying issues. Without someone (or someones) taking a massive discount, it’s going to be impossible for the Knicks to keep their championship core together in a couple of years and stay under the second apron of the luxury tax, and owner James Dolan has repeatedly said it would be “suicidal” to go over that line. Players may be open to small discounts to help the team, but not massive ones.
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Using Towns as an example, he is eligible for a four-year, $276 million extension, but said he is willing to take a discount to help the team. The Knicks reportedly offered four years, $200 million, which would require a healthy pay cut from the $57.1 million he will make this season, let alone in future years. Towns has said he feels he has earned a payday, coming off a season where he averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and was critical to the Knicks winning an NBA title. Recently, Towns was asked whether he felt he should be rewarded for his role leading the Knicks to a championship.
“No s***, Sherlock.”
This move by Knicks management kicks the can down the road, but the issue isn’t going away. By the start of the 2028-29 season, there very likely will be a Jalen Brunson extension — don’t expect him to take a $113 million discount again — plus Towns and Hart extensions, and an OG Anunoby extension could begin that season. Paying all of them market rate and keeping this team together is going to be next to impossible.
The Knicks just don’t want everyone talking about that on Oct. 20, when they raise their first championship banner in 53 years and Adam Silver hands out championship rings. You can watch that ceremony on NBC and Peacock beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern, part of an opening day triple-header featuring the Celtics at Pistons (3 p.m. ET), 76ers and LeBron James at the Knicks on ring night, then capped off by Thunder at Spurs and Victor Wembanyama (9:30 p.m. ET).
