NY Knicks: Three RJ Barrett Trades To Land A Star

NY Knicks trade RJ Barrett and other pieces for KAT

First of all, I have to acknowledge the Towns/Thibs dynamic.

Tom Thibodeau spent the best part of two and a half years as the Head Coach of Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Coach Thibs had a messy end to his time with the Wolves, engulfed in the Jimmy Butler saga – for those unfamiliar, Butler requested a trade, refused to show up to practice, then when he did eventually show, proceeded to absolutely let rip on his teammates, including Towns.

It was a mess that eventually factored into Thibs losing his job, and contributed to a fractured relationship with Towns.

So why on earth would Towns want a reunion with Thibs in New York?

Minnesota is a team with no apparent direction towards competitive basketball.

They’re a franchise that historically has failed to build a team around its franchise players. They’re also a team with a lot of cap space tied up in players who simply aren’t going to make them any better. This is the guaranteed money they owe to players over the next few years (including this season):

• Karl-Anthony Towns: $128.6m over 4 years
• D’Angelo Russell: $90m over 3 years
• Ricky Rubio: $34.8m over 2 years
• Malik Beasley: $43m over 3 years.

Furthermore, the Timberwolves have only made the playoffs once since 2004.

That lone playoff appearance? Yep, you guessed it – came under the tutelage of coach Thibodeau in 2017-2018.

If I’m Towns, I’d be seriously considering my future in Minnesota.

So, why would either team do the trade?

Knicks:

• when given a chance to add a franchise-changing player like Towns, you don’t let that chance go begging. Plus, he’s still only 25 years old and immediately makes them a better team.
• New York would still have cap space to make a splash in the offseason, with only $75m committed for the 2021-2022 season.
• additionally, the Knicks keep both the Dallas 2021 and 2023 first-round picks and can add young prospects to the roster.

Timberwolves:

• What can a team really do when a player demands a trade? We’ve seen it time and again where a star player asks for a trade to a particular destination and gets his wish. James Harden just achieved this with Houston and Anthony Davis before him with New Orleans. The precedent is there.
• From a team perspective, the Wolves should commit to a rebuild, and adding some nice young talent like Barrett and Robinson and an abundance of draft choices is making the most of a bad situation.
• The Knicks would have to part ways with a lot of assets, including young pieces RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson, as well as numerous draft selections.

If this deal is there, New York should pull the trigger.