The New York Knicks decided one blockbuster wasn’t enough during their offseason, and maybe they had one Villanova player too many days before training camp opened.
And after all, what would the NBA be without a team trying to shatter the Earth with a deal right before teams officially reconvene for the upcoming season?
The Knicks are going all out in June, acquiring All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports. Out, at least for now, appears to be Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick.
Randle is recovering from shoulder surgery following a bad fall in late January, and Jalen Brunson has started in his absence, helping the Knicks to within a game of the Eastern Conference finals. He joins a team that went a step further in the Timberwolves, who reached the finals of the Western Conference – making it a big move but not necessarily a needle for either side, at first glance.
It appears the Timberwolves, embroiled in an ownership battle between longtime owner Glen Taylor and the purported group that includes baseball great Alex Rodriquez, are cutting costs with Towns starting a $220 million extension he signed a few years ago.
That’s not the greatest sign for the future, considering the surprising run this franchise made in capturing attention across the basketball world when they pulled off a stunning upset of the Denver Nuggets in the second round, headlined by Anthony Edwards.
Towns seemed to settle into a supporting role nicely after years of being cast as the franchise savior — but now he’s headed to the Knicks and back to his old position of center. The Knicks sought help when it was revealed Mitchell Robinson would miss time after left foot surgery, and they already dealt with the defection of center Isaiah Hartenstein, who signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency.
Towns can certainly go shot-for-shot with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, and the two have history, wrestling in a martial arts match in Philadelphia a few years ago. And Towns has a history with Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks coach who is firmly entrenched with the franchise, and chief decision-maker Leon Rose.
Thibodeau demands defensive responsibility and has the wings to make the Knicks even more dynamic than last season, assuming OG Anunoby can stay healthy with Mikal Bridges joining from the crosstown Brooklyn Nets. When one factor in Josh Hart, the versatility is obvious and perhaps the thought is that personnel can compensate for the shortcomings of Towns on the defensive end, noting his improvement with the Timberwolves when they rose to elite status in the West during the last year.
But the big improvement, of course, is Towns’ gifts on the offensive end. Randle was solid as a primary ball handler, not afraid to engage in contact on offense and largely durable as a Knick until last season’s debacle.
Randle is a capable scorer and can give the Timberwolves some playmaking along with Edwards, but he’s not as effective or dangerous as Towns is for that purpose. Towns is probably a better fit alongside Brunson, being able to create space for the wings with his shooting. He was at nearly 42% from 3 last year – a huge safety valve for Edwards and point guard Mike Conley.
The Knicks were at their best last year with Hartenstein, Randle and Anunoby during their very short time together, until Randle’s season-ending injury on Jan. 27. They dominated the glass and beat teams with their size and all three have the ability. make plays facing the basket.
That element of the Knicks identity is gone, and DiVincenzo was a big part of that as well, making for the fun “New Knicks” storyline, with so many Villanova players on the roster.
But that has become something else, because the Knicks are no longer playing to be playoff party crashers. There are real expectations now, and the Celtics have shown they are very much the best team in the conference, and real personal moves will be needed to compete with them, let alone capture the champions.
Getting Bridges, who can defend three positions – if not four – while being an effective scorer is one. The Knicks seem to believe that Towns is the other, but it takes a lot of squinting to see the Knicks emerging at the top of a crowded and competitive conference.
It’s kind of weird when you consider Randle. Perhaps he might not have been the best fit along with this roster, as it needed a natural center and he would be playing out of position and facing the prospect of taking on a smaller role with the roster changes.
But two days ago, he was with many Knicks dignitaries at a court dedication bearing his name in the Bronx, at Earl Monroe Renaissance Basketball School. Standing next to Randle at this dedication was Thibodeau, and even if this trade came together quickly because training camp begins for all teams next week, there could be some hurt feelings because Randle helped turn the Knicks around with his 2019 signing.
But this is big business in the NBA — big bold business — and Randle and DiVincenzo seem like victims of the Knicks’ big dreams. The franchise has emerged from obscurity after years of irrelevance, but now must come to terms with the burden of real expectations, even if it doesn’t feel like they’ve really improved their lot in this ever-changing NBA life.
