Knicks Officially Shut Down Extension Talks With Towns & Hart
The New York Knicks have a title to defend, and it appears that the front office won't be letting any contract controversies get in the way of that. The team has officially shut down extension talk for Karl-Anthony Towns (and Josh Hart and Miles McBride), until further notice.
The New York Knicks are tabling all contract extension talks, per team spokesperson: "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."
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 9, 2026
The Knicks released a statement saying that they won't be engaging in any contract talks at this point.
"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."
Knicks reporter Ian Begley adds that they "want to get their business done quietly", but KAT publicly came out this week to chirp about how much of a 'discount' he would and wouldn't deem acceptable. That didn't sit well with the team. Begley adds that they just might have to start entertaining trading Towns at some point.
Part of the Knicks' thinking in releasing a statement on tabling extension talks is to limit distractions for the team heading into the season @IanBegley with more on what the statement means for the Knicks' extension-eligible players: https://t.co/d1nOvkp1cG
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 9, 2026
Charania adds that Towns & the Knicks are obviously on different pages here.
Shams on the Knicks statement today: "This is the Knicks attempting to essentially eliminate the distraction, eliminate the growing cloud around the team that has come from the fact that there is no extension for Karl-Anthony Towns or Josh Hart yet, and trying to bring the focus back to basketball. But now officially, both of these sides are fully divided on this issue. I'm told that negotiations have been idle between the Knicks and Towns for a while now. KAT would be willing to take tens of millions of dollars less than that max number, but he feels that current offer is just too steep and too extreme of a pay cut to take. James Dolan, the Knicks have shut the door on Karl-Anthony Towns' wishes for a contract extension"
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) October 9, 2026
"This is the Knicks attempting to essentially eliminate the distraction, eliminate the growing cloud around the team that has come from the fact that there is no extension for Karl-Anthony Towns or Josh Hart yet, and trying to bring the focus back to basketball.
"But now officially, both of these sides are fully divided on this issue," said Shams. "I'm told that negotiations have been idle between the Knicks and Towns for a while now. KAT would be willing to take tens of millions of dollars less than that max number, but he feels that current offer is just too steep and too extreme of a pay cut to take. James Dolan, the Knicks have shut the door on Karl-Anthony Towns' wishes for a contract extension."
Certainly, this will be something to keep an eye on as this season progresses.