New York's beat treated media day as a referendum on contracts, pressing Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart on deals that still have not been signed. A LeBron James aside made headlines too, revealing an old interest in the Knicks that expired the day they won without him.
Money Talk
Towns and Hart faced the same question from every camera at media day: what happens to their contracts. Towns told reporters he wants to stay, per ESPN's Vincent Goodwill, and Hoops Rumors had both Towns and Hart address the standoff directly. None of it changes the math the New York Post's Mike Vaccaro laid out — a $230.2 million roster running tens of millions past the luxury-tax line, with no first-round pick before 2030 to use as a release valve. Wanting to stay is not the same as a deal getting signed.
LeBron's What-If
ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported LeBron James said he once envisioned free agency ending in New York, and the Post's Bridget Reilly had him calling it a genuine vision — one that closed the moment the Knicks won the title without him. Hoops Rumors quoted him saying he's living in the moment with the Sixers now, the same team New York opens the regular season against on October 20. Good line for a broadcast, not a roster fact: he's never worn the jersey, and nothing on the books says he ever will.
Brunson Cleared
The Post's Jared Schwartz reported Brunson is ready to go, writing that the injury he played through last season didn't derail the title run. That lines up with what already happened here: Brunson's day-to-day tag turned into fully cleared on September 24, ahead of camp. Hart needled him over his Saturday Night Live cameo, and a show writer told the Post the shooting skit was built around Brunson's actual jumper — the kind of story that only gets told about a guy nobody's worried about health-wise.
Bottom Line
None of this week's coverage moves the two situations that actually matter: the Towns contract talks have sat stalled since September 23, and Drew Eubanks is a real day-to-day question heading into camp, not a hypothetical one. New York can afford a LeBron aside and a late-night cameo. It can't afford letting the money conversation drag into the regular season.
Is Karl-Anthony Towns getting a new contract from the Knicks?
Not yet. Talks stagnated as of September 23, and while Towns said at media day he wants to stay, no new deal has been reported.
Did LeBron James almost sign with the Knicks?
He said he once envisioned it, per ESPN and the New York Post, but it never happened — and he's now reportedly with the Sixers, New York's Week 1 opponent.
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