Steve Popper: If Knicks choose to keep Karl-Anthony Towns, they'll need to get his emotions in check
The Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns complains about a call against the Nets at Madison Square Garden on Jan, 21, 2026. Credit: Getty Images/Sarah Stier
In the end, none of the scenarios for the Knicks swinging a major trade may happen. After next Thursday’s trade deadline, all of the key pieces of their rotation could remain in place while Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors fade for a another cycle.
But that wouldn’t mean that nothing has changed. The faces may be the same, but the locker room can change. And that is something the Knicks will have to face the day after the deadline.
So let’s say the Knicks aren’t able to pull off the long-rumored — and really, really complicated — deal for Antetokounmpo. It’s not for lack of trying. The Knicks have had talks with the Bucks since the summer, when Antetokounmpo reportedly began to hint that he wanted to relocate and that his preferred destination was New York. And any deal, whether direct or involving multiple teams, almost certainly would have to include Karl-Anthony Towns, whose salary matches that of the Bucks superstar.
Towns is a veteran. He knows the math, too, and although he insists that he isn’t paying attention to the chatter, he has heard it.
If you saw Towns after Wednesday night’s game — or really, if you’ve seen him at all this season — you know that hearing his name in trade talks has come at a cost. Feelings are hurt. Egos are bruised. And maybe trust is gone.
This is the business they’ve chosen, to paraphrase “The Godfather Part II.” They’re well compensated and with little control for most of their careers. That doesn’t change the fact that feelings get hurt.
Towns sat in front of his locker after almost all of his teammates had cleared out of the locker room. When he was asked about the trade rumors, he insisted he wasn’t giving it a thought. You read the quotes and tell me if you believe it.
“I feel like I’ve been in trade rumors a lot for a lot of times, for [a] year . . . ,” Towns said. “That don’t matter to me. I’m not looking at social media or none of that stuff. I focus on the job at hand, which is trying to get wins every single night. As long as I do that, I do my job, I go home happy and I feel accomplished. I’m not worried about what anybody got to say or people write or anything like that.”
Is it a coincidence that Towns has seen his performance diminished this season? (He’s shooting a career-worst 46.2%, by far the worst of his career from inside the arc (51.2%) and the worst from beyond the arc since his rookie season (36.1%).
He has had little to say when his minutes have been cut down the stretch of games. His minutes per game have dropped to a career-low 31.6 as he tries to find his place in coach Mike Brown’s system.
The Knicks had real talks in the summer with the Bucks, and according to a league source, the Bucks walked away with the sides not able to come close to the sort of package Milwaukee is seeking for one of the best players in franchise history.
The Knicks likely will have just as much difficulty putting together a package for Antetokounmpo without what reports state the Bucks are seeking — a young All-Star-caliber player and multiple first-round picks. The Knicks are a veteran team without any of those assets.
Brown said before Wednesday’s game against the Raptors that he didn’t feel the need to talk to his team about the trade rumors that will swirl around them for the next week.
“Our guys have been around the league a long time,” Brown said. “And they know there’s a lot of noise around this time. They’ve just got to deal with it.”
Maybe it’s easier said than done, though.
Towns, for his part, arrived in New York last year on the eve of the season, willingly took a sidekick role to Jalen Brunson and still earned third-team All-NBA honors.
Although he spent the first nine years of his career in Minnesota and became a part of the community, this is really home for him. He grew up in New Jersey. His family is here, attending most games. Knicks president Leon Rose has a long relationship with him, serving as his agent for much of his career.
Towns said there have been no talks with anyone about his status or his future.
“We only worry about one thing. That’s winning,” he said. “So I ain’t got no reason to go into depth on anything. It’s just at the end of the day the conversations revolve around one thing and one thing only every single day, 24 hours a day — is winning. How can we win? How can I help this team win? The sacrifices I’ve got to continue to make every single night for us to be the best version of ourselves. I’ve been willing to do that every single night regardless of what anyone talks about.”
Maybe in the next week, it will come to a head and a move will come. But if not, if this is really the team that the Knicks believe can win an elusive title, there still might be work to do in the locker room.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
