After 9 seasons, the Karl-Anthony Towns era in Minnesota is over. After all the highs and lows (with more lows than highs), one of the most loyal Timberwolves players was traded to the New York Knicks in a stunner late Friday night. The deal in its simplest form is Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a protected 2025 first round pick via the Pistons. It is a deal that came out of nowhere so why did it happen?
Let’s start with the Knicks because Towns changes their offense. Last season, he averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds a game on shooting splits of .50/.42/.87. According to Todd Whitehead on Twitter (this isn’t formal so I don’t have to call it X), the Knicks kept rim protectors closest to the rim last season at 7’8” away from the basket (the league average was 9’). KAT is also a great fit with Jalen Brunson, their pick and roll is going to be deadly for opposing defenses. The floor is going to be so much more open for Brunson to operate as well. Randle was going to be a weird fit with Brunson, newly extended OG Anunoby, newly acquired Mikal Bridges and a center. That lineup is clunky and Randle plays at his best with the ball in his hands. According to Second Spectrum, Towns was 43% on 4.5 attempts per game on catch and shoot threes last season, he is going to create so much more space for Brunson to operate. Center is also a massive issue for the Knicks right now. Isaiah Hartenstein is gone and Mitchell Robinson cannot stay on the court, he is already out until for most of the first half of the season. They needed to do something at the 5 and Towns is a massive swing. He can pump fake and drive to the cup, with a solid handle and very good touch around the rim, Towns makes the defense pay for an undisciplined closeout. He can also post-up, though his post-up numbers were down last season, we should see Towns have more opportunities in the post now that he is not playing with Rudy Gobert. According to Second Spectrum in 2021-22 (the last time KAT was a full time center), he posted up 5.9 times per game and shot 55% out of the post. The Knicks are getting a really good player who has some warts to his game.
Let’s start with the fact that there was a reason that the Wolves traded all those picks for Rudy Gobert, the best rim protector in the NBA. Last season, the Wolves were the best defense in the NBA and were the best around the rim, only allowing teams to shoot 58.7% around the rim last season. They were 12th in that statistic in 2023, as they dealt with a lot of injuries in Gobert’s first campaign in Minnesota. In 2022, they were 24th in the league, allowing teams to shoot 64.3% around the rim. They needed a back end rim protector to become an elite defense because that is not one of KAT’s strong suits. Having Anunoby, Bridges and Josh Hart on the wing and providing secondary rim protection along with Tom Thibodeau as a coach will help but a defense with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns on it is going to have its issues. Another issue for Towns is he fouls way too much, he was 6th in the NBA at 3.3 fouls committed per game. He needs to stop having these bad offensive fouls because those are the ones that kill you. I like this deal a lot for the Knicks, just Towns’ rim protection and fouling issues worry me.
I am not worried about the Knicks trading Julius Randle. KAT and Mikal Bridges can replace his production on the offensive end behind Jalen Brunson and Randle missed the last half of the season and the entire playoffs. As I mentioned, I was worried about Randle’s fit in New York as well. I am concerned about losing DiVincenzo, who was awesome for the Knicks last season. He had a career year last season averaging 15.5 points per game in the regular season and 17.8 points per game in the playoffs. According to ESPN’s Matt Williams, DiVincenzo made 283 3 pointers last season, the 2nd most threes made in a single season and switched teams the next year, only behind Paul George who made 292 3’s in the 2018-19 campaign, his last with the Thunder. He was knock down all of last season, especially in the playoffs where he shot 43% from 3 point range. The Knicks are going to miss Donte DiVincenzo a lot because he is really good and their depth behind him is shaky. This is a bet on Deuce McBride and Tyler Kolek. One, Kolek, was a 2nd round pick in June and the other, McBride, is a lot smaller than DiVincenzo so I do have worries about their depth behind their starting 5.
I don’t think this changes the Knicks standing in the Eastern Conference a ton. I do think that this makes them better but not better than the Celtics. Towns will be a nightmare for everyone to guard but his defense will provide issues for New York. They are still right there with Philly and better than the Bucks and Cavaliers. Yet, everyone is chasing the champs that reside in Boston. Overall, I think this was a good trade for New York.
Don’t you love it when teams cut salary coming off of one of the best seasons in franchise history. I really don’t like this move from Minnesota. Let’s start with the fact that Towns is one of the greatest Wolves in franchise history, he stuck around when the Wolves were the worst team in the NBA and was such a huge part in turning it around. A guy Wolves fans have been defending forever is now gone, no longer there's to defend. This is a brutal business and this should be a sad feeling for the Timberwolves fan. Losing Towns also hurts their team, as it looked like he and Rudy Gobert had finally figured out how to play together. KAT was a key reason the Timberwolves upset the Nuggets as well, the way he defended Jokic in those 7 games really made life hard for the 3-time MVP. They’ll miss his offensive game as well, as I said Towns is one of the most skilled bigs in the league and he is really hard to guard so trading him now is a questionable choice, even though this had always been coming.
The second the Wolves made the Gobert trade, it felt inevitable that Karl-Anthony Towns was going to be dealt. He had just signed a 4yr/$220 million supermax extension and with Gobert’s huge contract and Anthony Edwards’ contract that was coming down the pipe, Towns was the odd man out. However, I would have tried to hold on for at least 1 more season and I don’t think Julius Randle is the guy I would have traded for. I love the DiVincenzo pick up, he is a fit everywhere he goes and will be able to play in the 3-guard lineups that the Wolves are going to be playing because they have a lot of guards on their roster. I just don’t like the way Randle fits with Gobert and Edwards. That lineup is too clunky which is a problem because Anthony Edwards is a superstar and the Wolves need to give him as much spacing as possible. Randle was shaky on catch and shoot 3’s a season ago at 35%. So, let’s go over some fake Randle trades because I don’t think he will be on the team come February’s trade deadline.
The Houston Rockets are one team I could see pursuing a Randle deal. Sending Randle to Houston for Dillon Brooks and a future first round pick could benefit both sides. While not a great shooter, Brooks could give the Wolves another elite point of attack defender while adding a first rounder. The Pistons could offer Tobias Harris in a deal for Randle if the Wolves want more spacing on their team. Yet, trading KAT for Donte DiVincenzo and Tobais Harris probably would not sit right with anyone. I like the idea of Miles Bridges playing for the Wolves from a basketball perspective but I would not consider making a Bridges deal for obvious reasons. Would the Thunder have any interest in sending Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins to the Wolves for Randle? Randle could give them more size and physicality and the Wolves could get more shooting, though size would definitely become a concern. The Hawks could offer Bogdan Bogdanovic and Larry Nance Jr. for Randle. There are plenty of teams that would be interested in a Randle deal and I think he will be traded again ahead of February's deadline.
I don’t think this crushes Minnesota’s chances in the west. Sure, it makes them worse, which for a team trying to win a championship stinks. However, I still think they can compete in a loaded Western Conference. Maybe not on the level they once could, I would probably not pick them against Dallas, Denver and Oklahoma City but they are still in that top tier in the conference. This is still an elite basketball team with what once again should be the best defense in the entire league.
It was stunning when the Knicks and Timberwolves made this trade on Friday night. This trade shakes up the landscape at the top of both conferences as the Knicks load up to try and win a championship and Minnesota sheds salary to, as they put it, keep their title window open as long as possible.
Also, the fact that we can’t listen to a new Lowe Post episode on this trade is very upsetting, thanks ESPN.
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