The New York Knicks entered the 2025-26 season with sky-high expectations as one of the East’s strongest teams. But within weeks, they’re off to a shaky 2-2 start. Their latest 121-111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks exposed glaring issues. Despite Jalen Brunson’s relentless effort, there was no help, particularly from Karl-Anthony Towns. Now, his postgame comments raised further concern about New York’s early struggles.

“I got a new role. I’ve got to embrace that, and I didn’t do that for 48 minutes tonight. And it hurts,” the 29-year-old big man said while talking to the media after the game. Towns’ struggle is concerning, given how difficult the upcoming days will be for him, as he tries to embrace the new role given to him by head coach Mike Brown. “It’s going to be a tough car ride [to Chicago for the next game, Friday]. It’s going to be a tough two days to live with that,” he further stated.

The Knicks center, who emerged as the team’s other go-to option apart from Brunson last season, had a forgetful night against Milwaukee to say the least. The five-time NBA All-Star has one of his worst games in a Knicks uniform, as he scored just 8 points in 35 minutes while shooting 2-of-12 from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns was left exposed by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co., as the Greek Freak steered his team to a comfortable victory.

Towns’ recent comments now seem more telling than ever. When he admitted before the season that he wasn’t sure about his role, he clearly wasn’t exaggerating. His struggles against Milwaukee reflected that uncertainty. Even beyond Tuesday’s game, KAT has looked far from the player he was last season after arriving from Minnesota, lacking the same confidence and efficiency that once defined his game.

This season, Towns is averaging around 17 points while shooting just 35.2 percent from the field, which is well below his career average of 23 points per game and 52.3 percent shooting from the field.

Now, although the newly appointed Knicks head coach, Mike Brown, had already assured the fans that it’s a marathon and not a sprint, the question is, given New York’s roster construction and their window to win a championship with this core, can they really afford an off-season from Karl-Anthony Towns, or should they look elsewhere?

The Knicks have been urged to cut ties with Karl-Anthony Towns

As New York Knicks superstar Karl Anthony Towns struggles to adapt to Mike Brown’s new system, many believe his days in the Big Apple might be limited. Including Sports Illustrated’s Alex Kirschenbaum, who thinks the seven-foot big man could become a centerpiece to help the storied franchise acquire a generational superstar to solidify their bet for a championship this season. The player in question? Well, it’s none other than the Los Angeles Lakers’ veteran LeBron James.

“Two teams that would make the most sense (in a potential trade for LeBron James), the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, are both hard-capped above the league’s punitive second luxury tax apron,” Kirschenbaum wrote.

The analyst further explained how, despite being financially restricted, they have several contracts that could be moved to make this move work. “A James-for-Karl-Anthony Towns deal would work financially- but, again, the New York Knicks would need to make other moves before they could make that happen.” Now, even though it’s a mere speculation for now, the trade would make a lot of sense for the Knicks.

Despite being 40, LeBron James’ production is still at an All-Star level. Last season, the Akron Hammer averaged 24.4 points along with 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists while shooting 51.3 percent from the field. So there’s no doubt that he’ll prove to be equally or even much better at the forward position in comparison to Karl-Anthony Towns. Whether the Knicks agree to make this move or not, only time will tell.