To the surprise of everyone, NBA Insider Shams Charania announced that the New York Knicks are trading All-Star Forward Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a protected Pistons 1st to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for All-Star Center Karl-Anthony Towns. This trade stunned the NBA world, as there were no rumors that trade discussions were being had. This is especially surprising since training camp is just starting for most teams, and the NBA preseason is beginning within the next two weeks.
While in a vacuum this trade is excellent for the Knicks, getting an All-Star caliber Center in exchange for Randle, who was up for a contract extension, and DiVincenzo, there are several variables that could cause this move to implode for the Knicks. Regarding the on-court fit, Towns is an excellent offensive player and just proved that he can be a second option on a team that was able to make the Western Conference Finals. Averaging 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3 assists on 50% FG, 42% 3PT, and 87% FT, Towns fixes several of the Knicks’ problems. There is no doubt that the Knicks raised their ceiling with this trade. Towns provides a real stretch 5 option for a Knicks team that has never had shooting at the Center position, and he can theoretically fill in for Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson, the former being lost in free agency and the latter being out due to injury until December.
This trade was not planned by the Knicks, as shown by Towns' reaction on Twitter/X; he himself did not expect the trade to happen. It is very likely that due to the severity of Mitchell Robinson’s ankle injury, Leon Rose decided to pivot and trade for Towns after contract extension negotiations did not work out with Randle. Thibodeau now needs to rework his offensive game plan to include Towns, and it is unknown how Towns will affect the defense, as he is not the defensive anchor that Hartenstein and Robinson were for the Knicks. Because the Knicks lost Randle, it now means that Bridges and Anunoby need to play a position up, which can cause issues for the team defense. Bridges struggles guarding bigger defenders, and the defensive burden of having to guard 4s can strain Anunoby, who has an extensive injury history himself.
It was also reported by Ian Begley of SNY that Donte DiVincenzo did not like the idea of playing a reduced role, something that I do not believe the Knicks accounted for. Losing DiVincenzo is a serious loss for the Knicks, as he provided bench scoring for a team that was already struggling with depth issues. DiVincenzo averaged 15.5 points on 40% 3PT for the Knicks, taking nearly nine attempts per game, as well as being their second-leading scorer in the playoffs.
Financially, this trade severely limits the cap flexibility of the Knicks, making them a first-apron team and a borderline second-apron team. Towns is owed $220M over the next four years. Despite Towns’ talents, he is now the highest-paid player on the Knicks, and with the new second-apron restrictions, it is going to be difficult to maintain the payroll of this team long-term depending on Mikal Bridges, who is extension-eligible next season.
This trade is very high risk, high reward. If the Knicks can get the best version of Karl-Anthony Towns, then they can very well compete for a championship. However, if the on-court fit does not work between this new core of players, in addition to the new CBA and salary cap restrictions, there’s a legitimate possibility that this team could start falling apart in 2–3 seasons if the Knicks cannot make deep playoff runs over the next few years, increasing the value of the Knicks' 1st-round picks the Nets own in 2027 and beyond.
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