The Minnesota Timberwolves are right in the thick of things as the deadline looms on a potential Ben Simmons trade. Whether Minnesota gets a deal done for Simmons or not is anybody's guess at this point. But if they somehow find a way to pull it off, nobody's going to benefit more than Karl-Anthony Towns.

Karl-Anthony Towns has become somewhat of a forgotten superstar in the NBA. KAT had garnered two All-Star selections by his fourth NBA season and even landed on an All-NBA team during just his third year. He was widely considered as one of the most desirable franchise players in the league with sky-high potential perfectly built for the modern NBA.

However, after two tumultuous seasons where both he and his squad dealt with a rash of injuries, Karl-Anthony Towns has become a relative afterthought. This despite possessing a unicorn skillset most people could only create on NBA 2K.

Karl-Anthony Towns is the biggest winner in any Ben Simmons trade

Ben Simmons, Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards

In many ways, Karl-Anthony Towns is the polar opposite of Ben Simmons.

In his last three seasons, Towns has averaged 25 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting over 50% from the field. His greatest weapon has clearly become his three-point stroke. Karl-Anthony Towns went from attempting 2.7 threes per contest during his first three years, to more than doubling that at 5.8 attempts per game in his last three. The massive jump in attempts was warranted given that he's a career 39.4% three-point shooter, making him one of the deadliest outside shooters in NBA, and not just amongst big men.

Towns has long established himself as one of the most potent offensive forces in the NBA. However, because of his lack of postseason success as well as his less than stellar play on the defensive end, he's now overlooked as one of the league's bright young stars despite just finishing his age-25 season.

These reasons are exactly why Karl-Anthony Towns desperately needs the Timberwolves to trade for Ben Simmons.

Ben Simmons is a reluctant shooter, but has the playmaking ability to be able to locate outside threats with ease. In fact, he's one of the best in the NBA at generating three-point looks for his teammates despite being unable to knock them down himself. Pairing him with an efficiently trigger-happy target in Karl-Anthony Towns sounds like a match made in heaven.

Simmons also finished second for the Defensive Player of the Year. His presence would be more than a welcome addition to a Timberwolves side that finished in the bottom three in defensive rating last season. Their putrid 114.5 rating was even worse than the Houston Rockets, who had basically tanked the season away entirely after getting rid of James Harden. Having Big Ben alongside KAT would balance out the defensive assignments instead of just hoping to outgun their opponents like they did last season.

And lastly, while Karl-Anthony Towns has only played in one playoff series, Ben Simmons has been on a Sixers club that's made the postseason every year since his first playing season. This isn't to say that Simmons is a bona fide postseason star that will bring a culture of winning to the Timberwolves. But going to Minnesota allows him a reset on a team with less expectations than the one he'd be leaving in Philadelphia.

Ben Simmons has played under the pressure of being a playoff team throughout his entire NBA career. Joining Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota gives him a chance to ease off that burden just a bit on a team with three (or two, depending on the trade package they've have to give up) dynamic offensive threats that aren't afraid to let it fly. Ben Simmons would no longer need to carry the offensive load or take on sole ball-handling duties for his team.

He can just play freely on a roster that needs his strengths more than they do his weaknesses, which wasn't something you could say about his pairing with Joel Embiid on the Sixers. Instead, he can directly thrive playing next to KAT.

Karl-Anthony Towns is entering the seventh season of his career on the Minnesota Timberwolves with not much to show for it. If the team wants to finally see what they have with their current franchise star, they'll need to swing for the fences and land the ideal star running-mate he truly needs beside him.