Knicks say they are pausing contract negotiations and will focus solely on preparing for the season

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks are focused on their NBA title defense now and will worry about contract negotiations later.

That means Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart will have to wait on extensions they hoped would get done before the season.

The Knicks said Friday that won't happen, perhaps setting up an uncomfortable situation with some of their most important players.

“As an organization, our entire focus is on preparing for the upcoming season and delivering another year for our fans to be proud of. As a result, we will not be negotiating contract extensions until later in the season and will remain solely focused on preparing for the start of the season,” according to a statement from a team spokesman.

The Knicks won their first NBA championship since 1973 in June but owner James Dolan said shortly afterward the team would avoid spending enough to trigger the penalties that come when a team reaches the second apron of the salary cap.

They re-signed most of their important free agents, but negotiations on extensions with Towns and Hart, plus key reserve Deuce McBride, haven't gone far. Towns, an All-Star in both seasons since coming to New York, seems particularly disappointed with comments he made recently. He is eligible for a four-year, $276 million deal. He is due to make $57 million this season and has a $61.1 million player option for 2027-28.

Hart will make $21 million this season and the Knicks have an option for 2027-28 at $22.4 million. He acknowledged that the contract situations could make it tough for players to focus — and also noted what it could mean around the trade deadline.

"You have situations like that and you never know what’s going to happen,” the forward said last month when the Knicks reported for training camp. “But for me, as long as I wear this jersey, I’m going to play as hard as I can for my guys and the city, so hopefully we can figure that out. But we know it’s a business, and we know if some of these things aren’t figured out by February, it might be a different conversation.”

The Knicks open their season on Oct. 20 against LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers.

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