Recently, the Minnesota Timberwolves, fresh off a trip to the Western Conference Finals, made the most shocking trade of the year. The other day, they agreed to send their star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, a former number one pick in the prime of his career, you the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Many are critical of the deal, but here's my take on it.
The Knicks Got Their Man
The New York Knicks needed a secondary scorer to go beside Jalen Brunson and enhance their inside scoring. While Randle showed an ability to score 20 points a night, Towns is a more elite and versatile scorer. He can step out and play stretch-four, he can post up, he's aggressive to the offensive glass, and he's seven feet tall...that last one always helps.
The Knicks are in pursuit of a championship and need every advantage they can get to beat the Celtics. Towns would give them a major size advantage that would force Boston to make an adjustment that hurts them in the long run. The Celtics need shooting in order to spread teams out. If you force Derrick White to the bench in favor of Al Horford's size, you eliminate the flow of Boston's offense and slow them way down.
The Knicks needed Towns in order to have any sort of chance at making a run. They knew they were trading Julius Randle anyway and wanted something major in return. I think they got it.
The Timberwolves Have a Plan
Sure, it may not have been the best move in theory, but Minnesota didn't agree to this trade for no reason. Like when the Celtics traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce away for valuable draft picks that they used to assemble the 2024 NBA championship team, the Minnesota Timberwolves are plotting their championship run as we speak.
For starters, Julius Randle is only guaranteed for two years maximum (and if he doesn't play great next year, he'll absolutely opt back into his contract). If Randle doesn't play well, the Timberwolves can move on from him and use the cap space to sign another star to go beside Anthony Edwards and help the Timberwolves compete for a championship in 2027. If Randle does play well, the addition of Donte DiVincenzo and the addition of first-round pick Terrence Shannon Jr. will give Minnesota the shooting specialists they desperately needed.
The Timberwolves were my preseason pick to win the NBA title. This move puts a huge damper on that selection, but I believe that Minnesota will get at least one ring in the next five years if this trade plays out to maximum potential for them. High risk, high reward.
Knicks Grade: A-
This is unbelievable to be predicting, but this move may win New York a championship for the first time in over a half-century. On the other hand, losing DiVincenzo was a major blow to the team. The Knicks need to figure out how they are going to shoot the ball quickly. If the Knicks can figure that out, it could get really exciting in New York this year.
Timberwolves Grade: B-
You can't really fault the Timberwolves idea, but when you're on the verge of a championship and your not completely sure what your pieces will look like in the future, trading Towns to the Knicks is a super risky long-term move. It might work out for them in the long run, but they need to find ways to get the right players. I wouldn't have taken that risk, but maybe Minnesota knows more about what they're doing than I do. We'll see.
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