Karl-Anthony Towns fumes with grim update on Knicks contract talks

PHILADELPHIA — Karl-Anthony Towns dialed up the pressure on the Knicks before Monday’s preseason opener, outlining the wide gap in his contract negotiations while taking his frustration public. 

“No s- -t, Sherlock,” Towns said when asked if he thinks he should be rewarded after the franchise’s first title in 53 years. “I just won a championship. You’d think it was pretty easy. 

“Unless you guys [reporters] think I have something else to prove.” 

According to league sources, the Knicks are offering Towns four years and roughly $200 million — which is $77 million less than his max. Towns has said he’d accept a discount, but clearly feels disrespected by the offer. 

“Simply put: I want to do something to keep the team together and can work with the Knicks and also values me,” Towns said. “And none of those things are close to happening.” 

Towns and the Knicks can agree to an extension up until June, but the chances diminish once the regular-season starts and he’s losing hope for an agreement before then. 

“It don’t look good,” he said. 

That means the potential for contentiousness will bleed into meaningful games. 

“Just let it go where it goes,” Towns said. 

The Knicks are trying to navigate James Dolan’s mandate to remain under the second apron, a task used to justify the lower offer to Towns. The sides have gained no traction since Towns became eligible for an extension in August, leading to the 30-year-old announcing on media day, “I think in this situation, there’s no comfortability to be had.” 

The Knicks are facing a strain on their books. Towns, Josh Hart and Miles McBride are all eligible for extensions now. None seem close to an agreement. Jalen Brunson becomes eligible next year and he is due for a big pay raise after accepting his team-friendly contract during the last negotiation. Brunson’s max will be roughly four years, $257 million —and would begin during the 2028-29 season. 

Despite the portrayal of a lowball offer for Towns, there are legitimate reasons for hesitancy. For much of last season, his contract was considered, at best, even value. He was discussed in trade scenarios involving Giannis Antetokounmpo and was so concerned about a relocation that he told The Athletic, “We were on Zillow in Milwaukee.” Before that, the Timberwolves traded Towns because, among other reasons, they were trying to shed his salary. 

But then Towns took off in the playoffs as the offensive hub while playing stout defense. The Knicks steamrolled through the playoffs and Towns thought the next step would be “pretty easy.” 

He was wrong. 

Towns’ leverage is his $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season, plus the threat of leaving for a bigger deal if he declines the option and hits free agency this summer. Several teams — including the Bulls, Clippers, Nets, Pistons, Kings and Warriors — are expected to have enough cap space to offer Towns a max deal if he hits the market in July. 

According to Spotrac.com, Towns has earned over $285 million in salary for his career. That’s tops on the Knicks — more than double Brunson ($121 million) and OG Anunoby ($138 million). 

He averaged 20.1 points last season with 11.9 rebounds while earning his third consecutive All-Star appearance. He said Monday that he expects an easier adjustment to coach Mike Brown’s style after some bumpy moments last season — for himself and the team. 

“Obviously, we won the championship and played a lot of basketball. So we were very comfortable and we understand what he wants to do and the new system he was bringing it over,” Towns said. “So I would say for our camp year, it’s been a lot more of just re-emphasizing and tweaking and being ahead of the curve so we won’t have to re-learn his offense. We’ll just know it. 

“It’s just who we are, it’s in our DNA. So starting off in a much better place than I thought last year.”