New Karl-Anthony Towns Rumors Reveal 'Stagnated' Contract Talks with Knicks Ahead of NBA Season

Karl-Anthony Towns helped lead the New York Knicks to their first NBA title in 53 years in June, but that hasn't made giving him a max deal an easy choice.

The two sides have had contract talks all summer, and ESPN's Shams Charania reported Wednesday that those talks have "stagnated" as the season approaches.

"As it stands right now, a deal going into training camp is considered unlikely," Charania said on NBA Today.

Charania noted that discussions have remained "cordial" despite the apparent impasse. He added, however, that those privy to the situation believe the contract discussion is a "cloud" heading into the training camp as Towns prepares to play on what could be the final year of his deal if he chooses not to exercise his player option.

Towns, 30, is eligible for a four-year, $272 million deal this offseason. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the Knicks are asking Towns to instead take a discount since they're close to the second apron and Jalen Brunson will be eligible for an extension next offseason.

Knicks owner James Dolan said in June that he's not willing to go into the second apron.

"There's certain things in the NBA that you'd have to be suicidal to do, and we're not going to do those," Dolan said. "One of them is called the second apron. Cannot go into the second apron... I'll write as big of a check as possible, but I can't write a check that goes into the second apron."

Towns has been one of the NBA's most impactful big men for a decade, and that didn't change last season. He averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game while shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from deep as Brunson's second option.

While he didn't light up the box score during the playoffs, anyone who watched the Finals knows he was one of the biggest reasons why the Knicks beat Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in five games.

But as important as Towns is, it would be difficult for New York to give him a max deal while also keeping other key players around for years to come.

Winning another title gets even harder this year after several Eastern Conference teams bolstered their rosters over the offseason, and Towns' looming contract could be a distraction for the Knicks as they try to repeat.

Whether the two sides will come to an agreemenet before the start of the season next month remains to be seen.