NBA rumors: Knicks eyed Walker Kessler trade before Karl-Anthony Towns deal
10/06/2024 09:31 PM
The New York Knicks have acquired Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster trade that shook up the NBA landscape amid a relatively lackluster offseason, thanks partly to the new CBA that limited teams’ approaches to roster-building. Still, this trade is massive not only because of the names involved, but because it may also shift the power balance in the Eastern Conference. However, the Towns trade may not have happened had the Knicks landed Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz instead.
During free agency, Isaiah Hartenstein joined the Oklahoma City Thunder to go play with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, which depleted the Knicks’ frontcourt depth.
“New York made multiple trade runs at Utah’s Walker Kessler to fill its well-chronicled void at center,” NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote on The Stein Line, citing league sources. “It is believed that Utah wanted at least two future first-round picks for Kessler… after the Knicks had exhausted much of their remaining cache of draft picks in the trade with Brooklyn for [Miles] Bridges.”
Are the Knicks better off with Karl-Anthony Towns instead of Walker Kessler?
An unspoken rule in trading for players is that you always trade for talent, and KAT has plenty of skill and upside to offer the Knicks. For instance, he remains one of the league’s best shooting big men.
His shooting will open up the floor for Jalen Brunson to operate, whether on pick and pops or drives-and-kicks to Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, or Towns himself.
Moreover, coach Tom Thibodeau can play Towns with Mitchell Robinson without sacrificing much on offense or clogging up the paint. Both Robinson and Josh Hart can still crash the boards and keep the ball moving.
However, they would probably start KAT at center and bring Robinson off the bench, especially considering his injury history.
At this point, he might be better playing 20-25 minutes a game, spotting for Towns when he sits down or when they need additional defense in the frontcourt.
Depth concerns wouldn’t matter as much in the playoffs, anyway, as coaches typically would stick to the eight- or nine-man rotation that got them there in the first place.
Still, if the Knicks had traded for Walker Kessler instead, they would have acquired a seven-footer who can block shots and rebound on a high clip, and he wouldn’t need the ball much at all.
It’s likely though that the Knicks wouldn’t play Kessler and Robinson together, since it would dam up the lane for Brunson’s offense and playmaking.
As a backup center, though, Kessler would have been a clear defensive upgrade over Hartenstein. However, the Jazz big man wouldn’t provide as much upside as KAT, whose offense gives opposing teams several different problems.
Who knows, though, if KAT will fit well in New York?
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