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Towns' Price Tag Freezes The Knicks' Summer

Extension talks with Karl-Anthony Towns have stalled while Jalen Brunson's wrist clock keeps running toward camp.

37.7Points a game, 3-game streak
By the Knicks Nightly Desk · Thursday, September 24

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks are no closer to a new deal, and now there's a number attached to the gap. Camp opens with Jalen Brunson and Mohamed Diawara both banged up, and the preseason slate starts in less than two weeks.

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Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Standstill

Karl-Anthony Towns' camp and the Knicks have been talking past each other for months, and ESPN's Shams Charania and Vincent Goodwill now call it a standstill. The New York Post put a figure on what's stuck: $272 million, the number believed to be driving the gap. Neither side has moved, and camp opens without an answer.

Two Bodies, One Date

Jalen Brunson is out with a left wrist and arm injury, eyeing an October 1 return. Mohamed Diawara is nursing an injury to his arm and finger on the same recovery timeline. Both matter for a team that opens its preseason slate in less than two weeks.

The Calendar

New York opens the exhibition schedule October 5 at Philadelphia, hosts Washington on the 8th, hosts Minnesota on the 12th, then travels to Toronto on the 13th. The regular season opener is set for October 20 against the 76ers, the league's marquee tip-off to start the year.

One Number

37.7 — Brunson's scoring average across a three-game stretch last season when he hit 30 points every night. That version of Brunson is what this roster is built around, and it's the version now on a recovery clock.

Bottom Line

The front office has a stalled negotiation and two hurt guards heading into camp, with under a month before games count. Towns' number is public now. New York's answer to it isn't.

Is Jalen Brunson injured before Knicks training camp?

Yes. He's dealing with a left wrist and arm injury, with a return targeted around October 1.

What's the latest on Karl-Anthony Towns' contract talks?

Talks have stalled, according to ESPN's Shams Charania and Vincent Goodwill, with the New York Post reporting a $272 million figure at the center of the gap.

By the Knicks Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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