The New York Knicks left no doubt that they won the Karl-Anthony Towns trade by winning the title, and if they could go back to October 2024, they'd do it again a million times over. They sent Julius Randle (who was just traded to the Nets), Donte DiVincenzo, and a 2025 protected first-round pick to the Timberwolves, which was the bulk of the deal. The Hornets also received a few players and picks in the multi-team deal, including a 2026 second-round pick.
A couple of months ago, Charlotte sent that pick to Miami in March to settle the Terry Rozier dispute, so the Heat came away with the No. 41 pick in this year's draft. On Wednesday, they traded the pick to the Thunder, who drafted Otega Oweh.
Miami will move up from No. 41 to select the Louisville guard. https://t.co/Gn8X8aXAWG
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 25, 2026
Quite frankly, it never mattered to New York who the pick was, and it will stay that way, even if Oweh is part of another championship run for Oklahoma City, which has better odds of winning it all than Miami.
Heat trade pick from Karl-Anthony Towns deal to Thunder
The Heat still managed to use the KAT trade to their advantage, moving up four spots in the draft to get Ryan Conwell out of Louisville. They need the depth after gutting their roster for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and gutting their depth in the process. It gives them a reason to be thankful for the 2024 deal, though you know they would've preferred for it never to have happened in the first place.
The pressure that was on New York's shoulders to win a championship after trading for Towns and Mikal Bridges now rests on Miami's shoulders, but the Knicks aren't going anywhere. They'll be the Heat's biggest competition in the East as they defend their title, and to do so, they could have to make it past the Thunder in the finals.
What matters to the Knicks in all of this is that they already ended their championship drought, and that wouldn't have been the case without Towns. They wouldn't have made it past Game 1 or 2 in San Antonio if he were still in Minnesota, or without another team, so New York isn't thinking twice about what it gave up before the 2024-25 season, including the No. 41 pick.
The Knicks already got everything they needed from that trade, and anything they get from here on out will be the cherry on top.
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