Believe it or not, but the New York Knicks aren't trying to rush Karl-Anthony Towns out of the city before the Feb. 5 deadline. It's felt that way, though, with the losses, not-so-great vibe in the locker room, and the pressure on the team to make an NBA Finals run. Sam Amick of The Athletic brought everyone back to reality on Friday when he reported that the front office hasn't engaged in talks this season (subscription required) about trading KAT, and "plan on persevering with him during this challenging time."
The last part of the sentence above is actually a little comical, but not because it hasn't been a "challenging time" for the Knicks, who have lost nine of their last 12 games. It just reads as if the world is ending, and it's up to New York to save it. Maybe the world will end if the team doesn't make it to the NBA Finals, an expectation James Dolan made clear in an interview with WFAN earlier this month.
In all seriousness, it wouldn't make sense for the Knicks to trade KAT over the next two weeks, unless for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is seemingly willing to ride out the second half of the season with the Bucks.
Knicks haven't engaged in Karl-Anthony Towns trade talks (and don't plan to)
Towns has struggled this season, especially in the past few weeks, which is why fans and people around the league have wondered whether New York would move him before the deadline. The Knicks went from winning the NBA Cup to looking like they had never played a basketball game before (that isn't that much of an exaggeration).
The compounding losses put an even brighter spotlight on KAT, who is still not fully accustomed to Mike Brown's system. His offensive efficiency is down. He's shooting 59.2% at the rim, down from 66.9% last season, and 36.3% from three, down from 42% last season. You know by now that he isn't a strong defender, so there's that, too.
Even with all of that (and it's not as bad as it seems), New York isn't reaching the level of desperation where it feels like the only thing that can "save" it is to trade Towns. As Fred Katz pointed out on his podcast, KAT's value isn't high, either. In other words, they couldn't trade KAT and be better because of it, not before the deadline.
Don't give up on Towns yet (because the Knicks sure haven't).