NBA rumors: How long Knicks were working on 'massive' Karl-Anthony Towns trade
10/01/2024 01:38 PM
Earlier this week, the New York Knicks sent a jolt through the NBA landscape when it was revealed that they would be trading Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. The move immediately remedies the one weak spot on the Knicks roster which was their depth at center and also gives Towns a chance to play alongside arguably the most talented supporting cast he’s had in his career.
Although the trade appeared to have popped up out of nowhere on a random Friday evening, NBA insider Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic is now reporting that the deal actually had been a long time coming during an appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show (via Pat McAfee on X, formerly Twitter).
“This was a massive trade,” said Charania. “This is something that the Knicks were quietly working on for months since the start of the offseason, since draft night. They offered Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. That was a hard no. They continued to offer that. No, no, no.”
Charania went on to explain that the Knicks ultimately included DiVincenzo in the deal, and then finally added the first round pick that got the Timberwolves to agree to the trade.
What is the Knicks’ ceiling with KAT?
On paper, the only team that has a definitively better starting lineup than the Knicks at this point is the Boston Celtics, who when healthy essentially start an All-Star team and recently cruised to the 2024 NBA championship.
The game of course is not played on paper but rather on the court, and Tom Thibodeau will have an interesting decision as to how he wants to build his starting lineup with Towns in the fray.
One option would be to start Towns at center, where he spent the majority of his career with the Timberwolves, and slide Josh Hart into the starting lineup at the wing position, essentially playing a five-out style of basketball.
Another route is to start Towns at the four and keep Robinson in the starting lineup at the five, mimicking the two-big lineup that Towns recently played with Rudy Gobert in Minnesota. This would hinder New York’s spacing but give them arguably the best rim protection of any team in the Eastern Conference.
Whatever Thibodeau elects to do, the Knicks definitely got better with the acquisition of Towns, even if it comes at the expense of two beloved pieces.
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