Carmelo Anthony says he believes the New York Knicks made the right decision in halting contract negotiations with some of their players to focus solely on basketball. With Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart eligible for extensions but talks going nowhere, the Knicks said last week they were pausing discussions until later in the season and would devote their attention entirely to defending their NBA championship.
Speaking Monday at the NBC Sports studios, where he is preparing for his second season as an analyst on "NBA Showtime," Anthony said he wasn't alarmed by the move. "I think it's happier times, I just think things just move so fast now that you get a chance to celebrate the championship, then it's business as usual, right? Business has got to go on," he said. He added that it was big for the team to stop the conversations and that they would get to them at the end of the season.
Towns 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. Towns has been disappointed in the progress of talks after being an All-Star in both seasons since coming to New York, and told reporters the Knicks' Friday statement that they were cutting off negotiations "was news to me."
Hart will make $21 million this season, and the Knicks hold an option for 2027-28 at $22.4 million. He said he wasn't frustrated but had previously noted what it could mean for players at the February trade deadline if there hadn't been progress. Anthony, who was represented by Leon Rose when he was traded to New York in 2011, now the Knicks president, said the sides will be able to work things out respectfully. "Right now, let the be all, be the be all, which is basketball. Let's go defend this championship," he said.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing