Knicks-Timberwolves trade levels: What does the Karl-Anthony Towns-Julius Randle trade mean?

Just when you thought it was safe to print out those rosters and depth charts as the entire NBA heads into training camp next week, the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves are making waves. The athlete's Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski reported late Friday night on a massive and confusing trade that was close to being completed by the two teams.

The Knicks want to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from the Wolves and are sending back Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a protected first-round pick via the Detroit Pistons. The Charlotte Hornets are also involved in the trade to help offset salaries in this Knicks move.

If you're not sure about this, join the club. It's a bizarre trade in many ways and a huge risk for both teams. The best way to make a profit from this trade is to take out a red pen and discard some trading notes.

(No offense to the Hornets grabbing random role-player salaries and second-draft compensation, but they won't be evaluated today. This is like a pass/fail quiz for them, and we're giving them permission to absorb salary losses, um to compensate them from trade.)

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— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) September 28, 2024

New York Knicks acquire Karl-Anthony Towns

On the surface, this may make a lot of sense for the Knicks. There have been rumors about them targeting Towns for a while now, and it has finally come to fruition. A four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Third Team selection, Towns is one of the best outside shooters we've ever seen. Best if you ask him. Although Towns is much maligned online, he is a very good player and one of the better big men in the NBA. He can score from anywhere on the court, is an exceptional and effortless outside shooter, and is also a pretty good rebounder. The Knicks desperately need a center with Mitchell Robinson injured, Isaiah Hartenstein headed to Oklahoma City, and Jericho Sims the only true center-sized player on the roster (you can use Precious Achiuwa sparingly).

Towns absolutely fills a need, and he does so without disrupting the Knicks' offensive flow. They can now play with five outs, put tremendous pressure on the perimeter, and maybe even mimic a little of what Boston did in their offensive series in the championship – at least in terms of the way the Celtics shot from the 3-point range attack and bomb line. Remember: The Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges this summer and also paired him with OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. So there's a lot of versatility and perimeter defense. Randle was always an odd fit when Brunson joined the Knicks and quickly established himself as an MVP candidate. Keeping Randle happy with touches and opportunities was always something of a ticking bomb because it could very easily keep the Knicks off balance, which worked.

That being said, New York is doing two confusing things here. I wasn't a big fan of signing DiVincenzo a year ago because the Knicks didn't seem to need him much at that point. I thought they needed to prioritize more size on the wing or in the interior. All that changed when Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett were moved as part of the Anunoby deal. At this point, DiVincenzo became essential in their rotation and was playing the best ball of his career. It's not like you can't get him to make a deal, even a deal like this. But by signing another Villanova player in Bridges, a lot of great atmosphere came together and the “Nova Knicks” rightly got everyone excited. They immediately break that up to acquire Towns (RIP Nova Knicks: 2024-2024). However, this means more playing time for Deuce McBride and he can actually play.

The other thing confusing the Knicks is that I'm pretty sure Towns drove Tom Thibodeau crazy during their time together in Minnesota. Even forget the whole Towns and Jimmy Butler thing. Towns often spoke about the defensive principles used during his time with the Kentucky Wildcats as Thibs implored the team to buy into what he wanted from the Wolves defensively. Towns has the ability to be a good defensive player. I know this because before Rudy Gobert took over, there was always a month of the season where Towns played great defense and you started to get the idea that he was finally turning things around on that end of the floor. Then his bad tendencies would come back and that feeling would disappear. The funny thing was that you never knew what month it would happen. Towns is too aggressive on blocked shots and doesn't get there in time enough to actually impact the shot. This leaves the attack boards open for the opponent. He also has trouble positioning and rotating help when he's the primary defensive man. That's the biggest part of Thibodeau's defense with his big men.

The Knicks desperately need Towns to be solid defensively. They will face an incredible Boston offense, a potentially dangerous Philadelphia squad featuring Joel Embiid (a Towns nemesis), and the relentless attacks of Giannis Antetokounmpo at the rim and Damian Lillard in a pick-and-roll at the rim Milwaukee. Not to mention teams like Orlando, Indiana, Cleveland and occasionally Miami. New York desperately needs Towns to play the best, most consistent defense of his career and bounce back from the physicality. The good news is that when Robinson and Towns returns for the Knicks, they will be able to play side by side. Towns showed this often with Gobert in Minnesota.

While this is a talent upgrade in the frontcourt where the Knicks were lacking, I'm still confused as to why that is the move for the Knicks. Their floor is elevated, but I'm not sure they'll reach that higher ceiling. Towns needs to change the way he defends to give the Knicks a huge win. It also takes away any shred of financial flexibility Brunson gave them by taking a discount on his extension. Towns is signed through 2027 for $160 million and then has a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season.

Grade: B-

Go deeper

Katz: What's next for the Knicks after trading Karl-Anthony Towns?

The Minnesota Timberwolves acquire Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a 2025 Protected First from Detroit

No matter what they say, it feels like a second-hand trade. The Wolves went all-in with max contracts for KAT, Gobert and Anthony Edwards, and also gave Jaden McDaniels a massive deal last year. Everyone knew that this would be too expensive in the world of the new collective bargaining agreement.

However, the fact that the Wolves reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004 made it seem like this franchise was going through a brief period of trying to push further. After all, the Wolves defeated the defending champion Denver Nuggets and their three-time MVP Nikola Jokić. They solved the intractable problem when it came to the West's hierarchy (by the way, there's a chance the Nuggets love this cap move from the Wolves, considering Minnesota's size hurt Denver in the playoffs). Sure, the Wolves were beaten in the conference finals by a great Dallas Mavericks team, but the Wolves should have bitten the bullet again.

Apparently that's not the case, despite Edward's rise to superstardom and franchise leader.

The Wolves accomplish four things with this trade. First, they add much-needed depth and playmaking to the backcourt. If the Wolves come close to accomplishing what DiVincenzo did for the Knicks last year, he'll be almost a perfect complement to Ant on the court. His shooting helps mitigate the loss of Towns on that end of the court, and he can handle the ball well and pass well to serve as a secondary creator. This could help Mike Conley conserve energy as he ages, and it takes the pressure off Rob Dillingham of performing as a rookie. It almost means relying less on Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who has been too shifty on offense at times in big games.

Second, they make things extremely strange on offense. The Wolves were not a good offensive team last season. They struggled to stay consistent and ended up with a league-average offense. Randle doesn't help. He has his strengths on offense, but is also a ball stopper when it comes to offensive flow. That may be fine if Edwards isn't in the game. They can run a lot of offense through Randle and he can play faceoff ball. He provides good physicality next to Gobert and can physically punish opponents with his game. But he's also a poor fit for spacing Gobert on the field if Edwards ever wants to think about driving (he does).

Third, the Wolves could get Naz Reid more minutes, which could be a good thing. I think Reid has the potential to get more opportunities. The Wolves don't have to be as concerned with feeding Randle's ego as they were with Towns – not that Towns is necessarily a problem in that regard, since he's adjusted quite well to Edwards taking over the team and Gobert came straight onto the pitch. But now the Wolves can provide even more support to Reid, who is a huge attacking presence on the pitch. This could even be a long-term play for them with Reid once Randle moves on.

Finally, with this trade they mitigate some of the threat from the second frontcourt. Randle has a $30 million option for next season. The worst case scenario for Wolves is that he exercises this and they can then have him as an expiring contract to move on. Maybe because of the depth? It feels like a second-tier trade for the Wolves, which is very disappointing for a team that just reached the conference finals. Maybe this was the only way to maximize that opportunity, but I'm just not sure how that fits on the pitch. The additional savings and flexibility may not be worth it. They will definitely need Edwards to continue to improve and continue to become one of the best players in the league to withstand any questions this trade raises.

As for the Pistons' pick, he's top-13 protected in 2025. The Pistons will definitely be in the top 13. It will be in the top 11 in 2026 and in the top 9 in 2027. Otherwise, it will be second in 2027. Maybe this will be their first in 2027, but the Pistons still have a lot of work to do to land a second-round pick for the Wolves. So it could be one of those fake first-round picks that looks good in a press release.

This is one of the rare trades where I don't really like it for either team. It feels a little like they both think they're taking advantage of their trading partner by moving a big man they no longer fully believe in. A real “that’s their problem now” vibe. But that doesn't mean the joke is on the trading partner. It could be the case for anyone.

Grade: C+

Required reading

John Hollinger: Why the KAT-for-Randle trade could upend the “best player” maxim

James L. Edwards III: Why acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns isn't a guarantee the Knicks will do better

(Top photo by Karl-Anthony Towns: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)