The New York Knicks appear to have faded into the background of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. And regardless of how you feel about acquiring a soon-to-be 37-year-old making more than $50 million, the KD rumor mill has shined a light on an uncomfortable truth: Karl-Anthony Towns has limited trade value.
ESPN's Shams Charania recently confirmed the Knicks made an offer for Durant leading into February's deadline. This suggested they would maintain their interest in the two-time Finals MVP this summer. In the days since, though, the New York Post's Stefan Bondy and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line have reported that the Orange and Blue are no longer considered in the mix for Durant.
This could change–or not be entirely true. 'Tis the season for smoke and mirrors, and all that. But Fischer wisely noted the salary-cap challenges of any KD-to-New York scenario.
Essentially, the Knicks must send out more money than Durant makes to avoid hard-capping themselves. As a second-apron team, however, the Phoenix Suns cannot accept more money than they ship out. Whether the trade is happening before or after draft night, a third and potentially fourth team must be involved.
Either way, though, the Knicks’ cleanest Durant trade construction features Towns, and the three years and $171.2 million left on his contract. Fans of the team, as well as the Knicks themselves, may feel like flipping someone entering their age-30 season for a player approaching his age-37 campaign is ridiculous. That’s fair. But the lack of interest on the other side of “negotiations” speaks volumes.
The Suns reportedly want no part of Karl-Anthony Towns
Reuniting Devin Booker with Towns, his teammate at Kentucky, may seem like something that interests the Suns. It apparently isn't. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Phoenix has no desire to enter the KAT business.
This raises a red flag when melded with Fischer’s reporting on what the Suns are prioritizing in any KD trade. “Sources say they would prefer to bring in starting-level talent to fortify their rotation around Booker for next season, and perhaps even try to turn any draft capital acquired in the eventual Durant deal into more win-now talent,” he wrote.
Towns would seem to meet the above criteria. But Fischer gives more emphasis to OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson, and even Josh Hart when viewing the situation from Phoenix’s vantage point. For the record, he’s not saying they are on the table. It would take at least two of them to make the salary-cap math work, and the Knicks are shallow enough without consolidating two of their top-six rotation players into one of the NBA’s oldest stars.
The Towns noise—or rather, the lack of it—is more telltale. You can say New York wouldn’t trade him in a million years for an elder statesman like Durant. But who do you think they were dangling for him in midseason talks? It almost had to be KAT.
For argument’s sake, though, let’s say the Knicks have made Towns a no-fly zone. The Suns should be tripping over themselves to get someone New York has put off limits. And if they aren’t, there should be more (read: actual) reporting on three-team scenarios in which other squads fork over assets for Towns that get sent to Phoenix.
Nothing of the sort is out there right now. That’s concerning.
KAT may be overpaid in today's NBA
To be certain, this is different from saying that KAT’s not a good player. He just earned his third career All-NBA nod. That doesn’t happen by accident. He’s an incredible offensive talent.
But the defensive limitations and inconsistent strengths at the other end tilt his risk-reward profile in the wrong direction, particularly when he’s on the books for $53.1 million, $57.1 million, and $61 million across that next three seasons.
Really, it all comes back to his contract. The league’s cap structure is no longer set up to max out just anyone. While Towns isn’t just anyone, he’s not universally considered a top-15 or top-20 player, either.
Relative to trade negotiations, that threatens to put his contract under water, rather than in the definitive-asset category. And though the Knicks don’t have to move him, the league’s perception of him and his current contract is something they must keep in mind for future trade pursuits—and most certainly if they’re thinking about extending him.