Karl-Anthony Towns confirms he’s willing to take less money from Knicks amid halted contract extension talks

Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks will begin the 2026-27 season on Tuesday night when they receive their championship rings before facing off against the new-look Philadelphia 76ers.

While Tuesday will be a celebration of last year's title, it will also be a reminder of what the Knicks are putting at risk after publicly pausing all contract extension talks with Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Deuce McBride and Tyler Kolek prior to the season starting. Towns was the first player the Knicks tried to get a deal done with, but the two parties couldn't bridge the gap between their asking prices before New York abruptly ended negotiations.

Towns spoke earlier in the month about his frustrations with the negotiations, noting he wanted to work out something to "keep the team together" while also valuing himself. Ahead of Tuesday's opener, Towns sat down with ESPN alongside Jalen Brunson — who famously took much less than the max in his last deal — and confirmed he is absolutely willing to take less than max money from New York in his next deal.

"Oh yeah, because I want this team to stay together," Towns said. "That's always been my main priority — was…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/