If the New York Knicks plan on moving forward with Karl-Anthony Towns as the centerpiece of what they believe is an NBA contender, they have to ask themselves a simple-yet-essential question this offseason:
Is KAT a center, or a power forward?
Getting bogged down by positional designations is by and large a waste of time these days. Teams need to be malleable and versatile. But traditional designations still matter when it comes to bigs. And if it makes you feel better, we can reframe the question to this: Should Towns be the primary big, or does he need to play alongside another one?
Regardless of which version you prefer, the core issue doesn’t change, and the answer is no less important. Because how the Knicks view Towns will not only define their offseason. It will shape their entire future.
There are layers to the Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns dilemma
New York acquired Towns without even asking this question. He was brought to the Big Apple to play center—to be the skeleton key who unlocked five-out spacing, and the euphoric offense supposed to come with it.
That vision, while tantalizing, has not unfolded according to plan. Though the Knicks finished fifth in offensive efficiency, their attack never truly felt elite. Cracks started to show as the season soldiered on. New York ranked just 14th in offense once the calendar flipped to Jan. 1.
Contributing factors to that unsettling averageness abound. KAT is front and center for a few of them.
Much like the Knicks at large, he did not take nearly enough three-pointers. His 4.7 attempts per 36 minutes are his lowest since 2017-18—when Tom Thibodeau was also his head coach. Towns also struggled to maintain his aggression when playing beside Jalen Brunson. By the end of the playoffs, the Knicks’ point differential per 100 possessions for the entire year (postseason and regular season) was worse when they were together versus when KAT played alone. You can see the full breakdown below, courtesy of PBP Stats:
- Knicks with Brunson and Towns: 2.48 net rating (1,957 minutes)
- Knicks with Towns, no Brunson: 9.44 net rating (1,199 minutes)
- Knicks with Brunson, no Towns: -0.05 net rating (1,024 minutes)
This aligns with the eye test. Many of Towns’ highest playoff highs came without Brunson. The same can also be said for Brunson when he played without Towns.
That is a problem. The JB-KAT dynamic has to be better. If it can’t be, well, it defeats the purpose of playing Towns as the lone big. And in that case, the Knicks need to give more consideration to a permanent dual-big setup.
Mitchell Robinson’s play beside KAT laid the blueprint. New York handedly won the 212 playoff minutes they logged together, posting a truly bonkers offensive rebounding rate while holding its own on the defensive end.
While pivoting to this lineup look might seem like a no-brainer, it’s not. The trickle-down effects of a KAT-Mitch frontcourt stretch deeper than many realize.
There will be consequences to treating Towns like a 4
Starting Robinson throws the Knicks’ already-shallow rotation for a loop. They can still play Towns at the 5 in secondary lineups, but they’ll need a third reliable big to sustain the overarching strategy. Robinson isn’t someone who can tally an obscene amount of minutes, and New York will be getting out of the Precious Achiuwa business this summer.
Playing KAT and Mitch together also compromises the offense. Spacing gets wonkier, and the Knicks become more reliant on second-chance opportunities in the half-court. The defensive gains could be worth it, but in certain matchups, they will need another big to soak up reps alongside Towns who both spaces the floor and doesn’t compromise the defense.
That’s a tall order, particularly when the Knicks’ offseason resources are lacking. They don’t have a flat-out first-round pick to trade, and their best spending tool will be the mini mid-level exception, which is worth just $5.7 million. Does that money get you in the Al Horford conversation? Would Brook Lopez take a pay cut?
Answering this Towns question is everything to the Knicks
Meanwhile, this all bleeds into another, more uncomfortable question: Is it worth being in the Towns business if you need to play him with another big to have a fighting chance on defense? The Minnesota Timberwolves showed last year that KAT-plus-another-center lineups can work. But if you have to get someone else to man the position your highest paid name was acquired to play, you’re not exactly in a position of strength.
Even the Timberwolves moved on from Towns before his supermax deal took effect. He will be making, on average, 33.5 percent of the salary cap moving forward. Paying him that money to be a roller-coaster second option who can’t be your full-time center is a potential, if not inarguable, red flag.
Then again, building a championship-caliber defense with Towns as your 5 (and Brunson as your 1) is potentially the bigger challenge. It might even be an impossibility. And if that's the realization the Knicks reach, they have one of two options: Figure out how to effectively move Towns down to the 4, or try to trade him.
Whatever New York decides will have a huge impact on how it navigates the offseason—and how it positions itself for the longer-term future.