NBA rumors: Timberwolves' reason for acquiring Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo in blockbuster trade

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After nine seasons with the team, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally decided to trade away Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a heavily-protected first-round pick from the Detroit Pistons. This move is bittersweet in many ways; Towns was the face of the franchise for nearly a decade, and the team has been through plenty of ups and downs with him at the center of it all. And just like that, his stint with the franchise is over.

There is no question that Randle and DiVincenzo, in a vacuum, are downgrades from Towns in terms of individual player caliber. Towns is one of the greatest big-man shooters the league has ever seen, and the Timberwolves have managed to make a partnership between him and Rudy Gobert work — nearly resulting in a trip to the NBA Finals in the process.

But it’s clear why the Timberwolves felt as though they needed to make this trade; per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Minnesota saw the Towns trade as an opportunity to add depth and lengthen their “window of competitiveness” in the process. They are confident that they can “lean on” Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid, and Jaden McDaniels to lead the team moving forward, while adding two quality pieces in Randle and DiVincenzo.

In particular, DiVincenzo has long been a target for the Timberwolves, as per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. They reportedly had interest in signing DiVincenzo last year in free agency, but were eventually priced out. Now, they view his three-point shooting as an indispensable addition to the roster especially after losing one of the best shooters in the league in Towns.

However, the Timberwolves fanbase is rife with cynicism. They believe that this trade is nothing more than a cost-cutting maneuver, and perhaps there is strong merit to this belief.

Did the Timberwolves trade Karl-Anthony Towns just to save a few bucks?

There should be no question that this is a financially-motivated move for the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns’ four-year, $224 million extension is set to kick in this upcoming season, and it would have been difficult for Minnesota to hang on to its core moving forward due to the punitive restrictions imposed upon teams over the second luxury tax apron under the new CBA.

Fans are enraged, and perhaps rightfully so. But this is merely a consequence of the new rules in place that would have necessitated a trade down the line anyway. (Rudy Gobert will be due for a new contract soon, and given how much the team gave up for him, it’s likely that they keep him for the long haul.) This is just the Timberwolves’ way of ripping the band-aid off.

But given this impending financial crunch, the Timberwolves did as well as they could. Randle and DiVincenzo are making less money combined than Towns does; the latter’s contract might be the biggest bargain in the association (he’ll be making an average of $11.9 million for the next three years — a pittance for one of the best three-point shooters in today’s NBA).

Randle does not come close to being the floor-spacer Towns is, that’s for sure. But he can create shots for himself and make plays for others as well. As a stop-gap option, Randle isn’t too bad, as long as he recovers fully from the shoulder injury that ended his 2023-24 season prematurely.

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