BUSINESSNBA

Karl-Anthony Towns on Knicks tabling contract extension talks: 'It was news to me'

New York Knicks management clearly thought talk about contract extensions for Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart were becoming a distraction, so they paused those talks until later in the season. That move caught Towns off guard, he told James Edwards of The Athletic. "It was news to me," Towns said. "Very disappointed, to say the least. Let's state the obvious: It's a business, but there is business on the court for us to handle." Towns hits on a key point: This is a veteran New York roster that is not going to let contract talk or other things distract them. They will be professional and focused. New York has four players eligible for extensions — Towns, Hart, Miles McBride and Tyler Kolek — but it's Towns and Hart that are drawing attention as the Knicks try to find a way to keep their championship core together while the second apron looms. Towns is eligible for a four-year, $276 million extension, but he's repeatedly said he is willing to take a discount to help the team — just not as big a discount as the Knicks were thinking. New York reportedly offered four years, $200 million, a $50 million per season average, which is a considerable pay cut from the $57.1 million he will make this season (Towns has a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season). Towns has said he feels he's earned a payday, coming off a season in which he averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and was critical to the Knicks winning an NBA title. The Knicks want to cool the temperature and put negotiations on hold for a little while, and released this statement.

October 12, 2026Yahoo Sports

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The pause in extension talks for Karl-Anthony Towns suggests the Knicks are prioritizing team fluidity over long-term commitments for now. This creates a 'wait and see' narrative that could affect team chemistry if the performance doesn't match the front office's expectations.

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Karl-Anthony Towns

NBA · New York Knicks

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News Analysis: Amid the Chargers' chaos, one thing is certain: Justin Herbert won't be traded

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert reacts during a loss to the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 11. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times) This is not the perfect spiral the Chargers were expecting. It's a downward one. Week after week, loss after loss. They are 0-6 for the first time since 2000, back when Jim Harbaugh was one of their quarterbacks, not their head coach. So even though they're rested after a week off, they're also on edge heading into Sunday's game against the Rams. On the outside, speculation has been swirling for weeks about what the sinking franchise can do — not so much to stop its current slide, as the season is already shot, but moving forward beyond this year. So far, the switch to Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator has been disastrous, and there's even conjecture the team could look to trade quarterback Justin Herbert, who has gone eight consecutive games with at least as many interceptions as touchdowns in each. The franchise is built around Herbert, mind you, and Harbaugh has predicted he'll one day be regarded as the best quarterback in NFL history. So the notion of trading him is beyond blasphemous. That's not to say clubs don't make dramatic and surprising moves. With the trade deadline a week from Tuesday, the 2-5 Indianapolis Colts are already starting to disassemble their roster. Last week, they traded eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle, and dealt star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner back to San Francisco, the team that drafted him.

Justin Herbert· Los Angeles Chargers

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