The New York Knicks take the courtroom for his or her first preseason recreation Monday evening, however one of many key gamers in final season’s championship run stays at odds with the crew over a contract extension.
“It do not look good,” Karl-Anthony Cities mentioned Monday of getting a brand new contract in place earlier than the beginning of the common season.
Cities is eligible for a four-year deal value over $276 million. He’s due $57 million this season and has a $61.1 million participant choice for subsequent season.
Sources instructed ESPN’s Shams Charania that the Knicks’ newest supply to Cities was a four-year deal value roughly $200 million.
A six-time All-Star, Cities was a catalyst for the Knicks’ playoff run final season, averaging 15.9 factors, 10.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists as New York received the title in a five-game Finals over the San Antonio Spurs.
Does that imply the Knicks ought to reward Cities for his hand in ending a 53-year title drought?
“No s—, Sherlock,” Cities mentioned. “I simply received a championship. You’d assume it was fairly simple. Except you guys [reporters] assume I’ve one thing else to show.”
Knicks proprietor James Dolan has mentioned the crew is not going to go into the second spending apron, which implies powerful choices will must be made. New York didn’t re-sign backup heart Mitchell Robinson this offseason. Robinson, who was the longest-tenured Knick on final 12 months’s crew, signed with the Boston Celtics.
Cities mentioned that he is conscious of the challenges of sustaining a championship core however that in his estimation the crew has not accomplished sufficient to compromise.
“Merely put, I need to do one thing that may preserve the crew collectively and work with the Knicks and in addition values me,” Cities mentioned. “None of these issues have come near taking place.”
Data from ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill was used on this report.
