Big man Karl-Anthony Towns recently made it very clear he hopes to keep playing for the Knicks, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
“Hell yeah, hell yeah. I want to stay here,” Towns said. “Obviously get a chance to be home, see my family. It means more than the money, you know. So just to be able to be here with the fans, be with the family. It means a lot. I would like it to continue.”
As Bondy writes, Towns was eligible for a two-year extension before the season began, but there was “no traction” on a new deal. The five-time All-Star is under contract through at least 2026/27, with a $61MM player option for ’27/28, so there wasn’t much urgency to extend Towns from New York’s perspective.
That may change next summer, however, since Towns will again be extension-eligible and could be a free agent in 2027 if he opts out of that option. The 30-year-old forward/center says he has a strong relationship with the team’s front office, Bondy adds.
“Me, (team president Leon Rose) and (Senior VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas) and everyone, we’re great,” Towns said. “I’ll go have lunch with them right now. We’re good.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- After missing two games with lower back tightness, Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. returned to action on Monday and produced one of his best games of the season, finishing with 35 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in 36 minutes during the victory over Charlotte, notes C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News. As Lucas Kaplan of NetDaily.com writes, Porter has thrived in head coach Jordi Fernandez‘s offensive system, putting up career-best statistics as Brooklyn’s top scoring option. “Well, I think Jordi — he’s a genius of a coach,” Porter said. “You know, we’re a young team, we’re going to keep growing, but he’s a genius in terms of the schemes that he puts out, especially offensively for me. The way teams are guarding me, really just face-guarding me and trying not to let me catch the ball, the different creative ways that Jordi has our team running plays to help me get touches and get looks off is really next level. He’s making it so easy for me to play my game. So I really have to thank just Jordi and the offensive coaching staff for how I’ve been able to produce.”
- Nets guard Cam Thomas, who is three-plus weeks removed from straining his left hamstring, will undergo an MRI in the next few days to determine how the injury is healing, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays. “He’s getting an MRI at the end of the week, and then when we get the reads [on it], then we’ll give you guys an update. We’ll let you know when that happens,” Fernandez said. Thomas was limited to just 25 games last season after straining the same hamstring multiple times.
- Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett have improved multiple aspects of their games since they were traded from the Knicks to the Raptors nearly two years ago, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. In addition to getting stronger and in better shape, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic also pointed to specific basketball improvements. “Immanuel improved his defense on the ball dramatically. He’s one of the best defensive players that we have now on the ball. Also very disruptive with his hands,” Rajakovic said. “RJ’s shot selection is a little bit different. He’s getting much more to the rim, he’s doing catch-and-shoot 3s, he’s scoring more off cuts. Those two guys — they’re investing a lot in their individual and personal development and that’s affecting our whole team.” Barrett, who is currently out with a knee sprain, still isn’t doing on-court work yet but his knee is getting better and he’s considered day-to-day, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.