After targeting Karl-Anthony Towns for several years, the New York Knicks were able to trade for him because the Minnesota Timberwolves' need to duck the salary cap's second apron simply became too great.
The Wolves opted to break up the rest of Towns' four-year, $220 million supermax contract into both Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, helping them stay competitive while creating significant cap flexibility going forward.
Regardless of their side of the equation, though, Towns' rise as the Knicks' playmaker has left him looking like one of the NBA's best players at any position. And the big man being the only one of the league's top 10 highest-paid players to make the Conference Finals makes it clear that he's worth every penny of his contract.
Towns stultifies contract concerns with breakout playoff run
Jimmy Butler's injury unfortunately lowered both his and Stephen Curry's chances of playoff success. None of Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker, or Kevin Durant made it to the Western Conference Finals, either.
Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't make the playoffs at all. Both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are among the league's highest-paid, but had their season ended by Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers. They, obviously, went on to lose to the Knicks in the second round.
That truly does leave Towns as the only player with one of the 10 highest salaries this season to make the Conference Finals. And it leaves the Timberwolves' clear concerns about the size of his contract looking especially silly.
When you take into account that the Wolves themselves just got bounced out of the postseason by the San Antonio Spurs, things don't necessarily look better for them.
They still had plenty of fight left after Donte DiVincenzo unfortunately sustained his season-ending achilles tear, but not enough to overcome Victor Wembanyama and the "Slash Brothers." That isn't their fault – and they have plenty of years left to find the right group of talent to surround their young superstar in Anthony Edwards.
But Towns' prowess as the Knicks' control tower from the top of the key has unlocked both more lanes for Jalen Brunson's scoring impact to swing games – and the general rewards of pairing two All-Stars with such versatile offensive skillsets.
Regardless of the results of Sunday's Game 7 between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks were always going to need Towns to step it up as a scorer in Round 3 of the playoffs. They wouldn't have made it there without his passing, though.
He's proving that, even in the era of the second apron, his contract was more than worth taking on. The biggest concerns about KAT's game are seemingly disappearing into thin air with every game he plays in this new role.
Who knows how far the Knicks can go if he can keep it up?
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