Make New York Post a Preferred Source Two core Knicks made it clear they’re uncomfortable with their contract situations.
As hope dwindles on the prospects of extension agreements before the season, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart applied tacit pressure on the Knicks by outlining the potential distractions and negative impacts of uncertain futures.
“I think in this situation, there’s no comfortability to be had,” Towns said on Media Day. “That’s probably the best answer to that.”
The Knicks have offered Towns well below his max extension of four years, $277 million, asking the All-Star to take a pay cut from his current salary while navigating the second apron. The sides are far apart and unlikely to reach an agreement before the real games start Oct. 20.
After trade rumors sapped Towns’ focus and performance for much of last season, the 30-year-old said he wants contract security “to feel as comfortable as possible.”
“I made it known I want to play here. I’ve been a fan since I was young. I would like to get one done, of course,” said Towns, who can become an unrestricted free agent in 2027 if he doesn’t get an extension and declines his $61 million player option for next season. “Obviously I would like to get it done so I can feel as comfortable as possible.”
Hart further detailed the distractions of lingering negotiations, noting that expiring deals often lead to relocation via trade. He revealed Monday that an extension before the season is unlikely because discussions stagnated.
“You don’t want that trickling into the season. Because whenever there’s uncertainty, there’s gonna be a lot of questions, there’s gonna be a lot of rumors,” Hart said. “At a human level, sometimes that can wear people down and it can affect how you go out and handle business on a day-to-day basis, just some of that uncertainty.
“So obviously that’s something that you want to get done so that you don’t have to deal with that and focus on that. But we know that at the end of the day, it’s a business. You have situations like that and you never know what’s going to happen. For me, as long as I wear this jersey, I’m gonna play as hard as I can for my guys and this city and hopefully we can figure that out. But we know it’s a business and we know if some of these things aren’t figured out by February (the trade deadline), it might be a different conversation.”
Hart’s current deal carries a $22 million team option for the 2027-28 campaign, so the Knicks have him under control contractually for two more years. He’s been eligible for an extension since August and would rather not negotiate during the season.
Under an edict from team owner James Dolan, the Knicks are avoiding the second apron of the luxury tax – a mission that gets trickier when Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby become eligible for extensions next year.
Mitchell Robinson was already a casualty of the second apron, having left in free agency to the Celtics because the Knicks didn’t want to spend to keep the center.
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“Are things going to get done? There hasn’t really been much movement or conversation with that, so I don’t think it will get done,” Hart said. “But I would love for it to get done. Once the season starts, I’ll probably have that mentality of ‘I don’t really wanna deal with this, I want to try and focus on playing the season.’ I’m sure there will probably be a little extra weight to the jersey. You don’t know the certainty of your situation and obviously it affects home life. There are certain things that you might want to do, but you’re like ‘I can’t, because I have no idea what the situation will be in two months, three months, four months, in a year, if I’m gonna be here or not.’ You don’t know. But hopefully, like I said, I’m a Knick, I’d love to be a Knick and I love the city.”
Soon after that answer from Hart, the electrical power at the practice facility shut down and the lights turned off. It gave Hart an opportunity to prematurely end his availability.
He wanted to make a point about the unresolved contract extensions – Miles McBride is also eligible and unsigned – and finished Media Day with reasons to be concerned.
“I would hope that that stuff gets done,” Hart said. “At the end of the day, we’re humans and I think what sometimes gets lost is that we are people, that we all have lives and things that we have to deal with and fix. I wish I could sit there and say it wouldn’t have any weight or any bearing, but you never know. Some people can handle it great and some people can really struggle with it and that can kill their performance. I hope it gets done, but we’ll see.”
