By Shams Charania, Jon Krawczynski, Fred Katz and Mark Puleo
The New York Knicks are nearing a trade for four-time All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, league sources tell The Athletic. The Knicks will send the Minnesota Timberwolves a package centered around forward Julius Randle, guard Donte DiVincenzo and a future first-round pick.
Towns, 28, has spent his entire nine-year career with the Timberwolves since being drafted No. 1 in the 2015 NBA Draft. He averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in 2023-24, returning to All-Star form after missing much of the 2022-23 season with a knee injury.
…
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) September 28, 2024
After winning 50 games last season, their most in a decade, the Knicks have made significant moves to upgrade a roster built around 28-year-old point guard Jalen Brunson. Beyond Towns, the team acquired wing Mikal Bridges in an early-summer trade with the Brooklyn Nets and re-signed forward OG Anunoby.
The Timberwolves are coming off a 56-win season in which they advanced to the Western Conference finals behind Anthony Edwards’ ascendant play. Randle, 29, was an All-Star for the third time in his career last season, but underwent shoulder surgery in April. At the time, the Knicks announced he would be re-evaluated in five months.
DiVincenzo, 27, averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game last season while making 40.1 percent from 3. The Timberwolves will be his fifth NBA team in four seasons.
The Knicks will also send DaQuan Jeffries and future draft compensation to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the trade, league sources tell The Athletic.
What does this mean for the Knicks?
The Knicks have the guy they have thought about for years. They called the Timberwolves about Towns a couple of years ago. And last year. And then again after that. The eye has wandered ever since team president Leon Rose took over the team in 2020, leaving his previous gig leading the basketball division at CAA, the agency that represents Towns. Now, he finally has his guy.
Towns brings the Knicks a couple of elements they need desperately, especially after the recent injury news regarding Mitchell Robinson, who is targeting a December return at the earliest following offseason ankle surgery: Size and shooting. There aren’t many 7-footers in history with the shooting touch of Towns. And the Knicks, who employed only Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims as their two healthy centers, now have help on the boards, an area head coach Tom Thibodeau wants to control as much as anyone. — Fred Katz, national NBA writer
How do the Knicks make up for the losses of Randle and DiVincenzo?
The Knicks don’t make this four-year return to competence without Randle, who signed with the franchise and helped renovate its image over the past half decade. He’s slid onto three All-Star and two All-NBA teams since his arrival in New York. He was a consistent 20 points and 10 boards and could make passes no one else on the team could even attempt, thanks to his size and strength. He gave them a unique element in the post.
Of course, Towns can do the same — and does it as a 7-footer with an endless array of down-low moves.
DiVincenzo’s departure means the end of the “Nova Knicks” that never were. He just broke the franchise record for 3-point makes in a season, but Towns, a 40 percent long-range shooter, will make up for the spacing they lose with their greatest sniper.
The Knicks are not as deep now. Only moments ago, DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Miles McBride were all expected to come off the bench. Now, DiVincenzo is gone, Hart appears to be the favorite to enter the starting lineup and McBride seems as if he’ll have an increased role awaiting him.
In a moment, this team’s identity just shifted once again. — Katz
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)
