Before the New York Knicks’ offseason had officially begun, the organization had already been linked to Karl-Anthony Towns. He’s been labeled as a potential disgruntled star that could be traded during the offseason, although a deal would be difficult to put into action.
Towns is represented by the CAA and with Leon Rose at the helm as the Knicks’ president, any and every CAA player that could be traded is going to be connected to New York. He grew up in New Jersey as a Knicks fan, too, so similar to the Donovan Mitchell saga, he’d be “going home” if he were dealt to New York.
The heartwarming story doesn’t matter, though. What does matter is if KAT does become available via trade, should the Knicks seriously pursue a deal with the Timberwolves once he can be traded starting on July 7?
Pros and cons of Knicks trading for Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns
Let’s start out on a positive note with the pros because whether or not New York’s front office would be serious about trading for Karl-Anthony Towns, it’s still a situation that the Knicks would have to consider regardless.
Pros
The most obvious pro is that Towns is a career 39.5% three-point shooter. He won the 3-Point Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend in 2022. He’s a true stretch five that would help to space the floor for New York, which is something that Mitchell Robinson currently is unable to do. Isaiah Hartenstein is a better three-point shooter than Robinson, but Hartenstein still isn’t a threat from deep. He shot 21.6% from three in 2022-23 on 0.5 attempts per game.
Towns would undoubtedly infuse the Knicks’ offense. One of New York’s major offseason needs is finding shooters because the team shot 29.2% from three in the playoffs. That’s unacceptable and is a large part of the reason why the Knicks were eliminated in the second round by the Heat.
Towns is only 27 (he’ll turn 28 at the beginning of the 2023-24 season), which is another pro. The Knicks wouldn’t be pushing in all of their chips for a player that’s on the wrong side of 30. And last but not least, let’s not forget that he knows what it’s like to have Tom Thibodeau as a head coach from the time that they spent together in Minnesota.
Cons
Unfortunately, the cons outweigh the pros. The biggest con is Towns’ contract. He signed a four-year, $224 million supermax extension with Minnesota last offseason and is signed through 2027-28 with that season being a player option. He’s making $36 million next season but after that, he’ll be making $50 million, $54 million, $58 million, and then he’ll have his $62 million player option.
His contract goes hand-in-hand with another con, his availability. He’s coming off a season where he played in a career-low 29 games because of a calf injury. He did play in 74 games in 2021-22, but the season before that he played in 50. In 2019-20, Towns played in only 35 games. Mitchell Robinson has had issues with availability as well, but he isn’t signed to a supermax.
Then there’s the fact that whichever star the Knicks trade for, New York will be relying on said star to help the team make a deep playoff run. It isn’t Towns’ fault that the Timberwolves have won a combined four playoff games since he was drafted No. 1. overall in 2015. However, it’s worth wondering how much he’ll move the needle for the Knicks, especially with the price that the front office would have to pay in a trade.
If New York does decide to move on from Julius Randle during the offseason and pursue Karl-Anthony Towns, how much of an upgrade would KAT really be? That’s the question that every Knicks fan should be wondering.
9 Players the New York Knicks gave up on way too soon
The New York Knicks gave up on these nine players way too soon, chasing win-now options and living to regret it in every case.