• The Knicks are walking into training camp with a championship banner in the rearview mirror and a contract problem still sitting in front of them.
  • Josh Hart put it even more bluntly: “We’re using it as fuel, we’re still the hunters, we’re not satisfied with one.”
  • But while the Knicks are trying to turn a championship summer into a clean start on the floor, Towns’ extension talks remain unresolved off it.
  • The sides are reportedly tens of millions apart, and the gap has become one of the main storylines around a roster that is otherwise being treated like a finished product.
  • Towns is eligible for a contract extension for a second straight year, and the Knicks have discussed structures that begin in the $45 million-to-$50 million annual range.
  • Reports have described the negotiations as stalled, and the two sides are far enough apart that the discussion could linger into the regular season and potentially beyond.
  • Towns has publicly expressed a desire to stay in New York, and the relationship between his agency, CAA, and the Knicks is viewed as one reason a deal remains possible.
  • The challenge is obvious: keep the championship edge while the front office keeps negotiating.