Ex-NBA player suggests Knicks will regret Karl-Anthony Towns trade
Today at 12:23 AM
After years of rumors involving the New York Knicks and an eventual pushing of their chips to the center of the table, they finally acquired the player that one would think they believe is the final piece of their championship puzzle. They dealt Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo (as well as a heavily-protected first-round pick) in a blockbuster trade for Karl-Anthony Towns, a huge acquisition especially with training camp set to begin in a few days.
The overwhelming sentiment on social media is that the Knicks won the trade, and in lopsided fashion. Perhaps there is merit to this belief. After all, New York is getting the best player involved in the deal, and at a position of need as well considering Mitchell Robinson’s injury problems. But for retired NBA player Evan Turner, it seems like giving up Randle and DiVincenzo — two crucial rotation pieces — might be something that the Knicks end up regretting.
“New York, Yall gone wanna keep [Donte] and Julius,” Turner posted on his official account on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Turner did not quite explain his reasoning for why he would much rather have the Knicks keep Randle and DiVincenzo. But it’s not too hard to understand why the Knicks should have reservations about giving up those two solid rotation players.
For one, Randle has been a rock for the Knicks, and he helped lead the team back to relevancy to begin the 2020s. His three-point shooting (or shot selection in general) leaves much to be desired, but he soaks up a ton of offensive workload for the team and he has embraced Tom Thibodeau’s coaching with open arms. He can also make plays for others, and at his size, he can be a matchup nightmare for the opposition.
Meanwhile, DiVincenzo has become one of the best sharpshooters in the NBA. Last season with the Knicks, he spread his wings in a starting role, and he was one of the best high-volume three-point shooters (3.5 made threes per night on 8.7 attempts) in the association, making him well worth his weight in gold.
Only time will tell, however, if the Knicks will regret trading away those two, as they are getting one of the most versatile offensive centers in the association in KAT in exchange for them anyway.
Knicks come out on top in Karl-Anthony Towns trade
There’s a sense that Karl-Anthony Towns has become underrated ever since he settled into a smaller role with the Timberwolves. Towns may not be the playmaker that Julius Randle is, but he too can attack opposing big men off the bounce. His passing also improved when he moved to the power forward position, and he continues to shoot the ball as well as anyone from beyond the arc.
Not too many centers can say that they average 20 or more points per contest on over 50 percent shooting from the field and over 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Towns is an offensive unicorn that will make the Knicks’ offense close to unstoppable. The two-man game between him and Jalen Brunson will be very difficult to contain.
The question mark, of course, is Towns’ defense. His rim protection isn’t exactly top-level, which is what prompted the Timberwolves to trade for Rudy Gobert in the first place. But the Knicks have the perimeter defense to help Towns out, and Mitchell Robinson should return eventually to give New York a legitimate rim protector.
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