Karl-Anthony Towns on his renewal with the Knicks: "It doesn't look good"

The New York Knicks are facing one of the main unresolved issues of their project this preseason. Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the key pieces of the team that won the championship last season, still has not reached an agreement with the franchise to extend his contract in the NBA market.

Towns himself did not hide his pessimism about the chances of closing the renewal before the start of the regular season. "It doesn't look good," the player admitted when asked on Monday about the status of the negotiations.

Towns is eligible to sign a four-year extension for more than 276 million dollars. He currently has 57 million guaranteed for this season and has a player option of 61.1 million for the next, making the pivot's contractual future one of the major pending issues for the Knicks.

An offer well below his expectations

According to sources cited by Shams Charania of ESPN, the latest proposal made by the Knicks to Towns involves four years and approximately 200 million dollars. It's a considerable amount, but far from the maximum the player can aspire to.

The six-time All-Star believes that his performance during the past season should carry significant weight in the conversations. Towns was a key player in New York's path to the title, finishing the playoffs with averages of 15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.

The Knicks ended a 53-year championship drought by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in a finals decided in five games. Towns was one of the protagonists of that success and understands that his contribution should be reflected in his new contract.

When directly asked if the championship should be enough for New York to reward him with a renewal, Towns responded emphatically: "Don't mess with me, Sherlock. I just won a championship. You'd think that would be easy. Unless you, the journalists, think I have something more to prove."

The second apron problem

The contractual conflict cannot be separated from the economic situation of the Knicks. Owner James Dolan has already indicated that the franchise is not willing to enter the second salary apron, a decision that forces New York to make complicated choices to keep the core that won the championship together.

One such decision was already made this summer with the departure of Mitchell Robinson. The pivot had been the longest-tenured player on the Knicks roster last season, but he did not re-sign with New York and ended up signing a three-year, 47.4 million dollar contract with the Boston Celtics.

Towns is aware that maintaining a championship team is challenging when salary restrictions begin to weigh, but he believes that so far the Knicks have not done enough to find a middle ground that allows them to keep the team's structure while also recognizing his value.

"To put it simply, I want to do something that keeps the team together and works with the Knicks, but that also values me. None of those things have come close to happening," Towns explained.

The situation leaves an important question open just as the Knicks begin their preparation to defend the title. Towns wants to continue in New York and has already made it clear that his priority is to find a solution that keeps the group together, but the gap between the player's demands and the franchise's offer remains considerable.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Karl-Anthony Towns, sobre su renovación con los Knicks: "No tiene buena pinta"