Eastern Notes: Knicks Extension Candidates, Brink, Pacers Roster, Bucks Minicamp

Karl-Anthony Towns, Miles McBride and Josh Hart with Nix all are eligible for extension. Stefan Bondi of the New York Post (subscription required) looks at the expansion cases for each player, writing that Towns is probably the top priority right now.

Towns is eligible to sign a four-year, $272 million extension, but that could create major salary cap issues. Bondi predicts the two sides could agree to a four-year, $180 million deal. Signing McBride to an extension could rid the team of perhaps its most expendable trade asset, depending on how much money he seeks, while Hart remains under team control for two more years, including a team option for 2027/28.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

• In the same story, Bondi noted that the coaching staff is relatively stable, with one exception a loss assistant Jordan Brink to the Bulls. Bondi hears that Brink thought the Bulls’ offer was too good to turn down. Brink is also focused on eventually becoming a head coach, and Chicago offers a clearer path to that goal than the Knicks. In the front office, Gerson Rosassenior vice president of basketball operations for the past three seasons, was not stored. According to Bondi, his contract was up and Rosas was both yearning for another opportunity and not offering a chance to return.
• The Pacers will start the season with 14 players signed to standard contracts, one short of the maximum, Tony East of CircleCitySpin.com predicts. They’ll be able to add a 15th player on a veteran minimum deal starting in early November if they need more depth, but because of their hard-line status, they’ll likely wait longer to fill it. East also details how they decided to give their two-way deals Kobe Brown, Jalen Slawson and a beginner Braden Smith.
• The Bucks took part in team bonding this week as they held a minicamp for players in Texas JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Almost all members of the current roster attended the event, which was apparently organized Miles Turner.