How complex Karl-Anthony Towns trade helps Knicks, Timberwolves, Hornets
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It took a lot of moving parts, but the New York Knicks have officially acquired four-time All-Star and former first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team trade that also involved the Charlotte Hornets. Although unorthodox for a trade like this to occur just days before the start of training camp, the Knicks finally got the superstar talent that they had been searching for to pair with Jalen Brunson in order to make a serious championship push during the 2024-25 season.
Towns, a New Jersey native, now gets to play for the franchise he grew up idolizing. On paper, the Knicks have a fierce and very talented-looking roster, yet this trade came at a price. Julius Randle, who made three All-Star appearances with New York over the last four seasons, heads to Minnesota alongside key secondary guard Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, and a protected first-round pick by way of the Detroit Pistons.
To facilitate this trade, however, the Knicks needed to get super creative because of the financial bind they found themselves in. As a result of sign-and-trades that were made to acquire Mikal Bridges earlier in the offseason, the Knicks found themselves hard capped at the second tax apron ($188.9 million), and their payroll prior to the Towns trade was inching dangerously close to this mark. In order to acquire the All-Star big man’s $49.2 million cap hit for the 2024-25 season, New York found numerous loopholes in the financial aspects of the CBA and the way teams can trade.
The biggest caveat the Knicks discovered when getting creative in these trade discussions was the use of minimum-like players that they owned the cap-hold rights to from free agency. Duane Washington Jr., Charlie Brown Jr., and DaQuan Jeffries played in a combined 25 games for the Knicks last season and scored a combined 20 points, yet they held the key to getting this deal done.
In order to acquire Towns, the Knicks needed to come with a couple million dollars of his near $50 million salary. As a result, the Knicks agreed to sign-and-trade deals with Washington, Brown, and Jeffries, sending all three players to the Hornets, the third team involved in this trade. The interesting part about these deals is that they were not for the minimum, as teams are not allowed to stack minimum contracts in trades.
So, the Knicks pulled a fast one on the NBA — agreeing to three contracts with these three players that were exactly $1 above the minimum threshold, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz.
Essentially, the Knicks packaged three minimum players together in sign-and-trade agreements with the Hornets to reach the financial threshold and acquire Towns from the Timberwolves. It is also worth noting that New York sent $7.2 million in cash considerations to Charlotte, and the Hornets surrendered the draft rights to 2023 second-round pick James Nnaji in order to complete the three-team trade.
Even with all of these moving parts and the Knicks getting creative with how they executed all three sign-and-trades with the Hornets, there was still a roadblock that they needed to pass regarding Washington.
How Knicks navigated Karl-Anthony Towns trade
A decision to trade for Towns was not an easy one for the Knicks to make. Aside from the emotions of having to give up Randle and DiVincenzo, the Knicks front office had to work day and night to get this trade completed with all of the minor details of draft picks, cash considerations, and the three sign-and-trade agreements.
One of the sign-and-trade deals turned out to be a lot more complicated than many would imagine. Jeffries and Brown weren’t the issue, but Washington had a current contract with KK Partizan NIS, known as Partizan, in Serbia. The 24-year-old guard, who had spent time in the NBA, most recently with the Knicks, was able to be included in this mega deal for Towns simply because Partizan agreed to have New York pay his buyout.
As a result, Washington signed a new NBA deal with the Knicks, was subsequently traded to the Hornets, and now he could potentially rejoin Partizan if the Hornets allow him out of his new contract. At this time, there is not a lot of clarity on this matter, yet the key detail is that he was just traded to Charlotte to complete this Towns trade.
All of this seems very fishy and like the Knicks are breaking the rules, but everything was done within the parameters of the rules the NBA has set for trades. Then again, the league is likely to review these rules, especially signing players to $1 above the minimum, in order to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
The Knicks pulled a fast one, and they got away with it because they outsmarted the rest of the NBA. If anything, the organization needs to give their carpologists and front office personnel who figured out this loophole a raise!
With the trade officially being announced and recognized by the league on Wednesday, the Knicks are now sitting around $185.3 million in total cap allocations for the upcoming season, roughly $3.5 million below the second tax apron. This is the reason why the Knicks are set up for success and why they have arguably the best front office in the NBA.
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and now Towns were all added by New York within the last two years. That is quite the masterpiece for Leon Rose and his team.
As far as Towns joining the Knicks goes, the team could not be more thrilled. In the organization’s press release on Wednesday, Rose broke his silence on the trade and offered his opinion on the addition of the All-Star.
“We are beyond excited to welcome Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks family. Karl-Anthony brings a skillset that is unique to the game of basketball,” Rose said. “He possesses a blend of playmaking, shooting, rebounding, and defending that in combination with his size allows him to compete at a level that is rare in this league. Karl-Anthony has demonstrated throughout his career to be a high-caliber player and person on and off the court who will complement the type of team and culture we continue to build in New York.”
The Knicks added the star that they have had their eyes on for quite some time, and they did so in a very unique fashion. For the other teams involved in this trade, their situations also become a lot more clear with Towns going to New York.
Impact of Karl-Anthony Towns’ departure from Timberwolves
How will Towns leaving the Timberwolves impact the team and Anthony Edwards?
This is the big question that Minnesota faces entering training camp, as everyone with the organization, other than the front office and those that made the decision to trade Towns, is left puzzled and wondering what is next. Edwards still remains, and he is going to be the focal point of the franchise. He is a young, athletic talent that the Wolves believe can, and will, become the MVP of the league sooner than later.
Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid also remain as the sparks on this Timberwolves roster. After trading Towns, the Timberwolves are actually in a better spot both financially and in terms of their roster makeup.
One of the greatest problems Minnesota faced en route to making the Western Conference Finals was the fact that their bench, outside of Reid, struggled to produce when Edwards was on the bench. Now that DiVincenzo is joining the mix, the Timberwolves now have immediate options to turn to from the perimeter for production. Not to mention, Randle’s scoring prowess and athleticism in the paint make him a dynamic option for the Wolves to play through with or without Edwards in the game.
Financially speaking, the Timberwolves have created flexibility for themselves moving forward by getting out of Towns’ $220 million contract. After agreeing to long-term extensions with Edwards and McDaniels recently, the Timberwolves were set to be a second-apron team moving forward. The good thing about trading Towns is that his money is off the books, and Randle is entering what will be the final year of his contract since he owns a $30.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season.
Whether or not the Timberwolves keep Randle long term, he now becomes an asset that they could potentially flip in another trade to pair Edwards with a different star. Not having Towns on the roster also paves the way for Reid, who has been an integral part of Minnesota’s success, to rise into an even better talent.
Randle takes over Towns’ production from a scoring and rebounding standpoint. DiVincenzo is now a key sixth man that can facilitate an offense and knock down shots from anywhere. Most importantly, the Timberwolves do not have their hands tied behind their back financially, allowing them to explore the possibilities of improving their championship outlook for years to come with Edwards.
Although it was a tough decision to make, moving on from Towns was the right one for the Wolves.
Hornets involvement in trade
Many are going to question the Hornets’ involvement in the Towns trade and wonder why they did it. After all, they essentially helped an Eastern Conference foe land an All-Star talent, and Charlotte did not really gain anything from this trade that can help them immediately during the 2024-25 season.
So, why did the Hornets get involved?
For starters, it never hurts to help facilitate a trade as the third team, especially if you aren’t going to be in contention mode. The Hornets are still rebuilding and figuring out their path for the future with first-year head coach Charles Lee. There is reason to be optimistic about this team’s potential entering the new year, yet they are still nowhere close to being on the same level as the likes of the Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers at the top of the conference.
By being involved in this trade, the Hornets were able to land three future second-round picks that they can utilize in future trades to improve their roster. Due to the Knicks needing to get creative with their ways of coming up with the funds to acquire Towns, the Hornets also got $7.2 million in cash considerations, along with the three sign-and-trade players. Essentially, this money helps Charlotte cover the costs of taking on these players, especially if they were to buy them out of their contract.
Just like how the Timberwolves created future flexibility by trading Towns, the Hornets created a gap for themselves to start making a plan for their future. Second-round picks are valuable nowadays. At the expense of the rights to James Nnaji, a 2023 second-round pick the team wasn’t going to be utilizing for the foreseeable future, the Hornets got cap relief and three second-round picks that they can use as they see fit in any scenario.
If it isn’t going to cost anything, why not be involved in the trade? That was the main line of thinking for the Hornets, who ended up being the Knicks’ saviors since they were basically the only team in the league who could facilitate the trade involving Karl-Anthony Towns.
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