The NBA is back.
Not just because training camps open across the league next week but more because it’s back to grabbing headlines with monster trades. This one came out of the blue and grabbed some of the principles off guard:
Karl Anthony Towns is headed to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in what is ultimately a three-team trade.
Let’s break down the winners and losers of this deal, but first here’s the full business:
New York receives: Karl-Anthony Towns
Minnesota gets: Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, 2025 first-round pick (via Detroit, top-13 protected)
Charlotte gets: DaQuan Jeffries, “draft compensation” (the details of the players and picks going to the Hornets to make the money work have not been finalized as of this writing)
WINNER: New York Knicks
Ultimately, it’s this simple: The Knicks needed a center and just got one of the best in the NBA.
Towns is an All-NBA level big man who makes this team better. New York has had its eye on the New Jersey native for years and now, in need of help at the five (Mitchell Robinson is recovering from surgery until around Christmas, and Isaiah Hartenstein left for a bigger salary in Oklahoma City), the Knicks got one of the best in the game.
It’s not a hand-in-glove match. There are questions.
At the top of the list is how well Towns can hold up as the rim-protecting defensive anchor of a Tom Thibodeau defense. Will the mercurial player bring it every night as Thibs demands? What worked in Minnesota is that defensive role — and the rebounding that goes with it — fell to Rudy Gobert, allowing Towns to play the four and be hidden a little bit on defense. (To be fair, Towns had some good defensive moments, most notably against Nikola Jokic when the Timberwolves beat the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs last season.) Towns must now assume that role full-time, and do it until Robinson returns.
Thibodeau had his frustrations with Towns’ effort and play when he coached the Kentucky big man in Minnesota (during the Jimmy Butler era), but in recent years, he has said several times that he was open to working with Towns again. He’s had nothing but positive things to say about Cities lately.
Losing DiVincenzo spikes, he was a vital part of their bench and a fan favorite, but it was the cost of making the deal, SNY.TV’s well-connected Ian Begley reported. Once the Knicks accepted that and put him in the deal, it came together quickly. To gain talent one must give up talent. The Knicks did that.
And now they are better for it. It may take a while for this new lineup to readjust, but New York is in the big game now and a real threat to come out of the East.
POTENTIAL LOSER: The Knicks’ depth
If there’s one thing tripping up the Knicks in the East — besides Boston and Philadelphia both being very good — it’s going to be depth.
The starting five of the Knicks can hang with anyone: Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Towns.
The bench is… less impressive. To put it kindly. Miles “Deuce” McBride has a lot on his shoulders right now, and once Robinson returns that will help. Some combination of Precious Achiuwa, Cameron Payne, Jericho Sims will get their chance. Or maybe Landry Shamet or Marcus Morris Sr., if the guys signed to training camps, make the final roster. None of that blows anyone away.
Tom Thibodeau is more than happy to run his starters into the ground with heavy minutes, but he — and the Knicks front office — will have to find some bench minutes over the 82-game marathon to make this work.
WINNER: Timberwolves (short-term)
Blame the second apron of the luxury tax if you will, it drove this business. In front offices around the league it was considered a question of when, not if, Minnesota should trade Cities for financial reasons. With Anthony Edwards’ new max extension kicking in this season on top of Gobert’s max deal, Towns’ max deal and high-priced role players — Jaden McDaniels making $23 million this season — something’s got to give, and that has to be KAT. This equipment was too expensive for any owner – especially Glen Taylor but also the Alex Rodriguez/Marc Lore/Mike Bloomberg group — and changes were coming.
However, after last season’s run to the Western Conference Finals, it was expected that Minnesota would keep its contending team – the one that used its size to defeat defending champion Denver – together for at least another season to run at it.
No. However, this trade should keep the Timberwolves near the top of the West for at least another season. It also saves money, Randle and DiVincenzo combined make about $9 million less than Towns.
This may work on the court but it puts a lot of pressure on coach Chris Finch to get the most out of a roster where the pieces don’t really fit.
Randle knows how to get buckets, he’s a bully-ball player in the paint who averaged 24 points and 9.2 rebounds a game last season. He’s also a ball-stopper on an offense that doesn’t space the floor, so pairing him with a non-shooting Gobert will allow opposing teams to pack the paint and take away driving lanes for Edwards. That’s where DiVincenzo comes in – his shooting and secondary playmaking could be a good fit next to Edwards, and it takes some of the load off 37-year-old point guard Mike Conley.
This deal could mean more run for reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid if Finch decides he needs to stagger Randle and Edwards’ minutes as much as possible. DiVincenzo’s arrival takes some pressure off rookie Rob Dillingham (and Terrence Shannon Jr.) to contribute on Day 1.
It’s a weird puzzle to put together, but there’s a lot of talent on this roster and a whole season to figure out how to make it work. This could come together for the Timberwolves this season, they should still be near the top of the West and a postseason threat coming out of the West.
LOSER: Timberwolves long term
Loser might be too strong a term here, but sometimes they change in Minnesota.
Remember, this trade was about saving money for Minnesota. Randle is making $28.9 million this season with a player option for $30.9 next season, which he doesn’t expect. The way the Timberwolves ultimately save money here is to let Randle go — or find a trade for him (perhaps a sign-and-trade) next offseason — and move on from their money.
With 37-year-old point guard Conley not the long-term answer at that position, this team will look different in a few years. Edwards is the rising superstar and the guy around whom everything is built. He is the face of the franchise. Gobert will be there in the paint, with McDaniels, DiVincenzo and Reid still around, but the roster will pivot in the coming years. The bottom line is, Towns is an All-NBA level talent at center now playing in Manhattan and once Randle is gone, this will be a very different team. Probably a not-so-good one, at least until Tim Connelly and the Minnesota front office figure out exactly what the team around Edwards should look like.
LOSER: ‘New Knicks
After the trade for Mikal Bridges this summer, it was exciting to see the ‘Nova Knicks – a core four Villanova players of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Bridges and DiVincenzo – who won big in college and now wanted to do it together in Madison Square. a garden
It broke up before the four even took the court together. What the hell DiVincenzo was the price to make this trade, and the Knicks were right to do it, but it’s still a little sad.
WINNER: Denver Nuggets
Tim Connelly was the administrative mastermind that built a championship team in Denver, then he went to Minnesota and built that team that had the size to beat them. The Timberwolves bounced back the Nuggets in a tough second-round series last May because they had the size to match up with Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. Cities played the best defensive series of his career matchup with Jokic, all that size to throw to the Serbian was the difference.
Now Minnesota is smaller and Jokic can see right over the top of Randle all the way to the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City can block that view (and the Nuggets are a smaller team without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), but Minnesota just traded their strength for Denver. That’s a win for Jokic and the Nuggets.
