Latest Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Rumors, Knicks Buzz Ahead of 2026 NBA Deadline

Despite what has seemed like a frosty relationship at times between head coach Mike Brown and Karl-Anthony Towns, the New York Knicks don't intend to move the five-time All-Star prior to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

Per The Athletic's Sam Amick, the Knicks "have not engaged in any discussions" about a Towns trade and plan on moving forward with him this season:

"According to league and team sources, the Knicks have not engaged in any discussions about a possible Towns trade this season and plan on persevering with him during this challenging time. That intel is consistent with what Dolan said in his interview, when he insisted that 'This group can win a championship; I believe that.'"

Towns' fit in this Knicks system under Brown has been a talking point for months. He even acknowledged they were "figuring it out" during a press conference right before the regular season started.

Things don't appear to have gotten better between the two sides as the season has gone on. There was a situation last week during a game between the Knicks and Golden State Warriors in which Draymond Green was called for a flagrant foul after tripping Towns.

After that game, which the Knicks lost, Brown and Green embraced on the court. Brown was an associate head coach in Golden State from 2016 to 2022.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne noted on a recent episode of NBA Today that the hug between Brown and Green "did not land well" with Knicks officials or players.

It didn't help that the Knicks were in the middle of a four game losing streak at that point and lost nine of 11 games prior to Wednesday's 120-66 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Even though the victory against Brooklyn quieted the concerns for New York for at least one day, Towns' numbers are still down across the board relative to how he played last season under Tom Thibodeau.

Towns is currently averaging 20.8 points on 46.9 percent shooting and 11.5 rebounds per game. He is on pace for the worst field-goal percentage of his career, the third-fewest field-goal attempts per game of his career (14.5) and is tied for the second-lowest scoring average of his career.

The Knicks have Towns under contract through next season and he has a $61 million player option for 2027-28. He can extend his deal for up to four years and $260 million after this season.

New York is currently third in the Eastern Conference with a 26-18 record, but is just 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed.