How to lose championship vibes in 4 months

Starring James "J.D." "Jimmy" Dolan and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Good morning. It's Monday. Let's basketball.

The New York Knicks, riding high off the franchise's first championship in more than five decades, began to play hardball with starting center and second-best player Karl-Anthony Towns in terms of his contract extension this fall. Towns, a heart-on-the-sleeve personality, made some comments about his frustration with the talks at the beginning of camp as it sounded like the two sides were eight figures per year apart.

Towns ramped up those comments a bit last week, responding to questions as the Knicks started their preseason campaign.

“Simply put, I want to do something that can keep the team together and work with the Knicks and also values me,” Towns said. “None of those things have come close to happening.”

That's Towns saying that the Knicks' offers to date do not show they appropriately value Towns, in Towns' opinion. That comment appeared to have angered someone in the Knicks' front office, because days later the team released a bracing new statement.

The New York Knicks will not discuss contract extensions with eligible players for the foreseeable future, a franchise spokesperson told The Athletic and other outlets.

“As an organization, our entire focus is on preparing for the upcoming season and delivering another year for our fans to be proud of,” the team’s statement read. “As a result, we will not be negotiating contract extensions until later in the season and will remain solely focused on preparing for the start of the season.”

And then ... that was the end of it! Properly chastened and put in his place, Karl-Anthony Towns commented no more on the matter, laced up his shoes and took to the court.

Just kidding.