Some have pondered the idea of the New York Knicks moving on from some of their top players, including Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns could sign a new contract, but the Knicks seem unwilling to offer one.
And according to a recent article from Josh Cornelissen of FanSided, two ESPN analysts recently spoke about why that's the case.
"Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN confirmed what others have reported in recent weeks, that the Knicks and Towns are not discussing an extension this offseason. While you can logically piece together why that would be, they said it explicitly: Towns is more tradeable on his current deal than if he had another two expensive seasons tacked on," he wrote.
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As Cornelissen mentioned, this could be a situation where the Knicks don't want to play their hand.
It makes sense for a few reasons, but it'd also be tough to justify unless they get a true superstar back for Towns. While Towns has his issues as a player, mainly on the defensive side of the basketball, the Knicks shouldn't expect to find a center who can shoot 42.0% from 3-point range on high volume.
Of course, his issues are sometimes evident on the other side of the basketball, but he's so gifted offensively, and hopefully, with Mike Brown's offensive scheme, that'll be an even bigger part of the Knicks' success.
Towns has also had some issues during the playoffs in recent years, but for the most part, last season, he was more than fine.
As long as Towns can stay on the court like he has for much of his career, there are only a handful of players the Knicks should realistically think about giving him up for.