The New York Knicks have been in the spotlight over the last couple of weeks as they tried to work out contract extensions for their star players. However, nothing came to fruition, and the quest to defend their championship is on the horizon.
The Knicks were trying to extend Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns. Instead, all extension talks have been shut down by the organization.
“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," a Knicks spokesperson told ESPN's Shams Charania.
Towns has been the most vocal throughout this process, hoping an extension would get done. It hasn't, and he wasn't too pleased when he found out the organization had addressed the media about stopping talks without informing him first.
“It was news to me. Very disappointed to say the least. Let's state the obvious. It's business, but there is business on the court for us to handle,” Towns said.
Towns has made it clear that he wants to stay in New York, but the question is how much of a pay cut he would have to take. If the center doesn't sign an extension, ESPN's Brian Windhorst believes the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, and Atlanta Hawks would offer lucrative deals in free agency.
“If Towns isn't extended, he could opt out and enter free agency. There definitely are teams -- starting with the Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers and Atlanta Hawks -- that would probably line up to make big offers. This is what other teams are studying with the Knicks,” Windhorst wrote.
For Towns to reach free agency, he would have to decline his player option, which is worth a significant amount of money for next season. Even if he doesn't sign an extension, he still has some major decisions to make.
Towns is currently on a $220 million contract with New York. If the NBA champion believes other teams would offer him more money than the Knicks, there may be little reason for him not to explore the free agency market.
