Karl-Anthony Towns speaks publicly for the first time since Knicks trade

Karl-Anthony Towns is officially a New York Knick. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the trade on Friday, but it wasn't finalized until Wednesday. The Timberwolves formally introduced Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo on Thursday, and KAT had his first Knicks practice.

New York is at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., for training camp. Before the Knicks left on Monday, the team conducted Media Day. Towns was the facility but couldn't speak publicly about the trade.

Charania reported the full trade details on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, New York's PR X (Twitter) account tweeted about the trade. Towns practiced on Thursday and spoke with the media for the first time since the trade.

KAT reflected on his nine years in Minnesota and said he was "thankful" to play basketball there. He said he's "excited" to be in New York. Towns said he was "shocked" when he learned about the Knicks-Timberwolves trade on Friday. He then said "flabbergasted" was a more appropriate word to describe his reaction.

Towns said it's "great" for him to be close to family now that he plays for the Knicks. He grew up in New Jersey. He said he'll get to see his grandmother more often and will get to see his niece and nephew grow up.

Karl-Anthony Towns is excited to play for Knicks and be close to home

Towns formed his own community and family in Minnesota, but there's nothing like going home and playing for the team you grew up rooting for. Professional athletes have a busy schedule, so it's nice that KAT will get to spend time with his family. His family will also get to see him play more often.

Minnesota's president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, went to Towns' home to tell him about the trade. After staying up until the wee hours of the morning, KAT went to watch Jon Krawczynski's daughter play soccer (subscription required) on Saturday morning because he promised he would. On Sunday, Towns was on a flight to New York. His life changed in the blink of an eye.

Towns is reunited with Tom Thibodeau, who coached him in Minnesota. He's started building chemistry with his new teammates. He said he introduced himself to Jalen Brunson first thing because the point guard jokingly pretended not to know who Karl was at Media Day.

It's unclear if the Knicks will formally introduce Towns when the team returns to New York as Minnesota did with Randle and DiVincenzo. Mikal Bridges had an introductory press conference a couple of months ago after the Knicks traded for him. Maybe New York will do the same for KAT.

It's great to see Towns chopping it up with his new head coach and hear how excited he is to be in New York. The Knicks will play their first preseason game on Sunday in Charlotte. It's unknown if KAT will play. Fans can expect to see him get some preseason action before New York opens the regular season in Boston on Oct. 22.