Kendrick Perkins points the finger at Karl-Anthony Towns as NI’s problem
To say that the 2025-26 NBA season went as it is New York Knicks expected when they replaced Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown it would be a big mistake.
Of course, The Knicks won the NBA Cupan accomplishment that some but not all believe is worthy of a banner at MSG, but the team sits at 25-18 overall and has lost nine of its last 11 games. While the sky has yet to fall in New York, as the team remains in third place in the Eastern Conference, fans, pundits and the like have begun looking for someone to blame for the team’s woes, with ESPN Kendrick Perkins pointing with a finger firmly in the direction of the All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns on Tripin Road.
“You know the problem is Karl-Anthony Towns. You just don’t want to say the quiet thing out loud because all year you’ve been, ‘Karl-Anthony Towns this, Karl-Anthony that.’ There’s no need for Karl-Anthony Towns to grow up and be a grown man,” Perkins said. “That’s what they need to be. It’s not a Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson issue. It’s a Karl-Anthony Towns and Mike Brown issue, because if you notice, everybody benefits from this new offense except for Karl-Anthony Towns.”
Appearing in 40 games with 40 starts so far this season, KAT’s production declines over his 2024-25 marks and his career average, but not by much, averaging 21 points. 11.6 rebounds, and three assists per game, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. The numbers, however, don’t show a growing disconnect within the team, with Towns reportedly shopping around before the trade deadline and his own “disappointment” highlighted in media sessions.
Will Towns still be a member of the Knicks on Valentine’s Day? It’s hard to say, but where there’s smoke, there’s often fire, and something is clearly wrong in New York, even if Perkins’ claim isn’t the problem in and of itself.
2026-01-20 21:53:00
