Karl-Anthony Towns is in New York. He's not at the New York Knicks' Media Day, but he was spotted at the facility earlier in a Knicks cap. You might be wondering why he can't participate in the festivities if he's there, which is a valid question.
The trade was announced late Friday night and hasn't yet been made official. The collective bargaining agreement complicates the matter.
There are a ton of salary-cap related nuances to it, which takes a lot more than a 280 characters to explain. May just write an explainer on it at some point soon. Rules in the new CBA makes this a heck of a lot more complicated on the fringes than these trades once were. https://t.co/IIUgHgndQ0
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) September 30, 2024
Remember that the Knicks and Timberwolves aren't the only two teams involved in the trade. The Hornets are the third team to help make the trade work, but it's unclear who New York will sign and trade to Charlotte. DaQuan Jeffries' name has been thrown out there.
This trade has a lot of moving parts.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) September 29, 2024
Because New York is over the first apron, they cannot take back more money in the trade and will need to send out an additional $8.8M in salary.
Minnesota is over the apron and cannot take back more salary from what is sent out.
Enter the… https://t.co/JEMHyqEOZb
Note that ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said that the "expectation" is that the trade will be official "early this week." The Knicks will go to The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., for training camp after Media Day, so KAT should be able to participate when the trade is announced.
Knicks can't talk about Karl-Anthony Towns trade at Media Day
Tom Thibodeau was the first speaker at Media Day, and he said he couldn't comment on the KAT trade. A reporter asked him about coaching Towns in Minnesota, to which Thibodeau said, "Good try."
Tom Thibodeau is asked about coaching Karl-Anthony Towns in the past:
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) September 30, 2024
"Good try" pic.twitter.com/Akp5ZIRUxm
On Friday night, Shelburne said Towns was "still processing" the trade. She added that it was "worth noting" that Thibodeau has been "complimentary" of Towns since the head coach left Minnesota, something that KAT "noted."
Karl-Anthony Towns is “still processing” this trade, according to a source close to him. But it’s worth nothing Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has been publicly very complimentary of him since he left Minnesota—something that’s been noted by Towns. https://t.co/Yysccrbne6
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) September 28, 2024
Jalen Brunson was next up, and like Thibodeau, he was asked about the KAT trade. He said he saw the reports but couldn't comment. Someone asked Brunson if he said hello to Karl when he arrived, and the point guard hilariously pretended to not know who Karl is.
Q: "Did you say hi to Karl when he got here?"
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) September 30, 2024
Jalen Brunson: "Who is Karl? Don't know who that is." pic.twitter.com/MNM29vASeO
You can bet that Thibodeau and his players have spoken to KAT, but you can also bet that they won't say a word about it. The front office can't comment on the deal. Brunson could've talked about it, but chose not to since it's not official. He played it safe.
The trade should be completed soon. Media will be at training camp, and New York will play its first preseason game in less than a week. Guess who the Knicks will host on Oct. 13 in their third preseason game? The Timberwolves. Who said preseason games aren't interesting?