As we continue to sleuth out what’s going on with Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks, the answer could be gobsmacking us right in the face: He was thrown off by being dangled in packages for Giannis Antetokounmpo over the summer.
If you’ll recall, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported ahead of the regular season that the two-time MVP asked for a trade to the Big Apple. While the seriousness of negotiations between the Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks aren’t totally known, Giannis “told at least one Bucks teammate that he believed a trade to the Knicks was quite close to materializing,” according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
You don’t need to be a mathematical prodigy to understand the arrival of the Greek Freak would have just about guaranteed KAT’s departure. Not only are their salaries within $1 million of one another, but Kris Pursiainen over at ClutchPoints reported the Bucks proposed a deal featuring Kyle Kuzma, in addition to Giannis. New York couldn’t take back that much combined money without including Towns’ $53.1 million.
Knowing that the Knicks were willing to move him, if not close to shipping him out, may still not be sitting right with KAT. As The Athletic’s Sam Amick recently wrote, it “couldn’t have done much for Towns’ confidence in the security of his Knicks seat, no matter how many times the franchise downplays the possibility of a move actually happening.”
Karl-Anthony Towns might feel like a placeholder
Trade rumors are part and parcel of being an NBA player. Towns won’t catch a lot of empathy if he’s unsettled or disgruntled by the Knicks’ willingness to move him for one of the five best players alive.
Still, players aren’t just lucratively paid chess pieces. They are humans, first and foremost. Incessant chatter and speculation will grate on them.
The impact on Towns could arguably be exacerbated by his initial move to New York, too. At the time these clandestine Giannis talks were reaching their fever pitch, he was less than one year removed from leaving the only franchise he’d known for nearly a decade.
To top it all off, Towns was eligible to sign a two-year, $150 million extension over the offseason. It doesn’t seem that he and the Knicks engaged in meaningful negotiations. That is more than understandable for New York. It is the right business decision. But just because it’s the smart play for them doesn’t mean it won’t reinforce any unease Towns’ is feeling about his future.
The Knicks need to smooth out their relationship with KAT
Nothing discussed here excuses the legitimate problems fans as well as members of the organization have with Towns. His body language, comments, and on-court production have downright sucked at points this season.
New York nevertheless must find a way to improve its dynamic with the seven-footer. He is far from blameless, but eliding every possible opportunity to defend him, to show actual faith in him, doesn’t help matters, either.
As Amick notes, Towns and the Knicks seem stuck with one another through at least this season, for better or bare. His value around the league has plummeted, and they don’t have the depth or supplementary assets to sell low on him.
Moving Towns before February 5, in all honesty, feels like a non-starter. And if that’s the case, the Knicks have no choice but to embrace him—or at least not actively make things worse than they are already.