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Tom Orsborn: Per the NBA, the scheduled matchup between Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper would mark only the 2nd time since 1966 the top 2 picks in the same NBA Draft will face each other in the 1st regular-season game for both players. The previous instance was in 2015 (Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell).
No extension talks between Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns
Brian Windhorst: The Knicks have the option of riding this core out, or their pathway forward is to make a trade. Mikal Bridges got extended this summer. We have not heard anything about Karl-Anthony Towns getting extended. And I don't think it has a commentary on Towns or the season he had. I just think that Towns has three years and about 160 million left on his contract. Actually, I think it's more than that, I think it's 170 and there would be some challenge to trade that.
Tim Bontemps: I think if Karl-Anthony Towns were to sign an extension, and I don't think there's been real discussions of that one way or the other this summer, which I wouldn't take it as any sort of a negative thing. I think it's much more likely rather than the Devin Booker route, it's more likely the Rudy Gobert's route.
7PM in Brooklyn: Inside Karl-Anthony Towns' 2-hour dinner with new Knicks coach Mike Brown “We have a chance to win a championship and that’s only going to happen if everyone’s connected.” @ro
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Josh Hart: Ay bro you too big to be playing shortstop. Stick to DH
Ay bro you too big to be playing shortstop. Stick to DH https://t.co/8Y8lHxNN6M
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) August 4, 2025
Rachel Nichols on LeBron James: The Mavericks do not want him
Rachel Nichols: The Mavericks do not want LeBron James. They have messaged that out through multiple reporters. So, I think that door is closed. The New York Knicks door, the Karl-Anthony Towns trade that people keep talking to, I don't think the Lakers would see how that would make them better. And I don't think that they are going to go backward to make a LeBron trade. I don't see them wanting to do that. I don't see them wanting to buy him out so he can go do something else and be somewhere else and potentially beat them. So, I think we also have to keep in mind in terms of feasible trades, what is good for LA? The Clippers is an interesting possibility, right? I mean, it would certainly be a Clippers move to want to get one over in terms of bringing the Lakers biggest star, and he is still their biggest star, over to the Clippers side. You tell me what the Lakers would want for LeBron that you think the Clippers would be willing to give up before they even see how this Bradley Beal version of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard and everybody else we're about to and Zubac and everyone else we're about to discuss works. Do you see them doing that before November? Chris Mannix: Not unless they're willing to flip Kawhi, which I I don't see. Nichols: Do you think the Lakers would take Kawaii? Mannix: No.
“So, next up on the list: the Knicks made a mistake by getting rid of Tom Thibodeau.” Stan Van Gundy “Yeah, they totally did. That was a big mistake. Tom Thibodeau—one of the best coaches in this league—did an unbelievable job with that team this year. Maximized virtually everyone on their roster. I mean, OG Anunoby—best year of his career. Karl-Anthony Towns—probably the best year of his career. Jalen Brunson, a guy who was what, a 15–16 point-a-game scorer in Dallas, has become a star. Josh Hart went from a backup to a triple-double-type of guy in New York. I mean, he just maximized this roster and took them places they hadn't been in a quarter of a century. And they make a coaching change? Made absolutely no sense to me.”
He's obviously not on their radar now, but the Knicks also did some background work on Deandre Ayton. Some decision makers viewed Ayton as a good fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns. Part of their background work included talking to the Trail Blazers about Ayton.
New York went into the initial stages of the hiring process with Brown’s name circled. Per league sources, the Knicks liked Brown’s extensive résumé and the fact that he’s worn many hats in the NBA. Brown’s willingness to collaborate and the leadership qualities the franchise examined were also big selling points, league sources said. New York, led by stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, liked that Brown has worked with James, Bryant and Curry.
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The Knicks had been among the teams linked to a potential trade for Antetokounmpo -- with New Jersey native Karl-Anthony Towns often mentioned as the centerpiece -- but league executives said the Knicks simply don’t have the assets for such a blockbuster. “The Knicks cannot get Giannis,” the NBA executive said. “They don’t have enough assets.”
Kyrie Irving: "And by the way, before I forget—y’all got to stop making fun of my brother, KAT. I'm done with y’all. Stop making fun of my brother KAT. It’s over for that. It’s a wrap. I’m letting y’all know: if you repost that again or you meme him up, I’m attacking you. Not like that physically—in GTA—but I’m attacking you, all right? I’m attacking you. Y’all got to leave KAT alone, okay?" "Cuz y’all don’t know what it’s like to grow up in Jersey and have all of these cultures that you’re a part of. Trust me on that. Jersey is literally 130 miles long. It is a very, very small state. But when I get back to my point, I’m going to explain this to you. But I’m just saying—leave him alone, all right? Leave our Jersey light, because he’s Dominican, he’s Black, he grew up in, you know, a certain area in Jersey just like me. And you got to survive out here, and you have many different demographics of people. So you got to survive out here, all right?" "Sometimes I don’t—I don’t agree all the time when he be, you know, changing up his tone sometimes. I don’t always agree and all that, you know what I mean? That be funny. But on a serious note—he is a man. He’s my brother, and I protect him all the time. All right?"
Tommy Beer: the weird part about Karl-Anthony Towns seemingly being scapegoated by some is that it's difficult to imagine KAT having a more productive or impressive debut campaign in New York. Towns averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 boards, 3.1 dimes and 2.0 made three-pointers, while shooting 52.6% from the field, 42% from three and 82.9% from the free-throw line. The only other player in NBA history to average 24 & 12 and slash 50/40/80 or better in a single season is Nikola Jokic
Overall, though, Towns’ first season in New York was a success. He was one of the 15 best players in the NBA, finished second in the league in rebounding with 12.8 rebounds per game and delivered one of the most memorable moments of the season when he scored 20 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals to rally the Knicks to a win over the Pacers. He was given the nickname “Bodega KAT,” his Dominican roots and late mother’s affinity for the Knicks fostering a natural connection with the city. However, with the franchise’s determination to bring a championship back to the Mecca for the first time in over 50 years, anything could be on the table this summer. “Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” Rose said in a statement following the firing of Thibodeau, the most successful Knicks coach this century.
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