Knicks pause contract negotiations with Karl-Athony Towns, Josh Hart, others until 'later in the season'

The New York Knicks will begin the 2026-27 season with a number of players facing uncertainty regarding their long-term contract situations.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Deuce McBride and Tyler Kolek are all extension eligible right now. Towns is the most-pressing situation as he can opt out to become a free agent next summer, but none of them will have a new contract before the start of the season. The team released a statement on Friday confirming that, as an organization, the Knicks will end extension talks until "later in the season," citing a desire to focus on preparations for their title defense.

"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."

While the stated goal of pausing negotiations is to eliminate distractions, it's hard to imagine this having the intended result of quieting questions and concerns in New York about the potential to lose Towns. The All-Star big man detailed his frustrations with negotiations earlier this week, explaining he was willing to take less than the max to help keep the team together but that the offer New York was making was not also showing the appropriate valuation of his talents.

According to reports, the Knicks' most recent offer to Towns was worth $200 million over four years, which is $77 million less than his potential max. If they are going to bridge that divide and find a compromise on a contract figure it will now have to happen later in the season -- with no specifics on when exactly that could be.

At this point, there will not be a new contract offer hitting the table any time soon, and while that will put an end to questions asking for extension updates, it will just change the conversation to being about a potential cloud hanging over the team due to lingering uncertainty about Towns' future.

McBride is also set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and given Towns figures to be the priority, this puts a potential extension in real jeopardy. Hart and Kolek both have team options for next year, allowing the Knicks to keep them on the roster without needing to figure out a new deal first.

It's rare that a team makes such a public show out of pausing contract negotiations, and it doesn't seem like a good sign for how those talks have been going. Ever since winning the championship, James Dolan and the Knicks front office have made it clear they will not be spending heavily to keep the team together, with Dolan stating outright that they won't go into the dreaded second apron.