Karl-Anthony Towns has seen his name dragged into trade rumors this summer with his future with the Minnesota Timberwolves now shrouded in uncertainty. The New York Knicks have been identified as one of the teams that have shown interest in a potential blockbuster trade for the three-time All-Star but at this point, nothing has really materialized on that front.

Knicks inside Ian Begley has now provided some insight into this situation in a recent appearance on Zach Lowe's The Lowe Post podcast. According to Begley, the Knicks have seen Towns' contract as a major stumbling block in a possible deal:

“What I had heard was that the salary, some people felt that the salary was just too onerous, at least at this point,” Begley said. “… They felt that the salary was going to really hurt them later in his deal.

“But listen, I think obviously this dynamic can change at the drop of a dime. I do think though that if they could, if they loved the idea of Towns right now, they could've had him. That's just my kind of read on the landscape in general. So I think that tells you that they don't see him as the ultimate fix for everything, or the player to take them to the next step, no questions asked.”

It's just been a year since Towns signed a big-money extension with the Timberwolves that will see him pocket close to $260 million over the course of the next five seasons. In the final year of his current deal, KAT will rake in a whopping $61.1 million. This is obviously a lot of money, and it appears that the Knicks are unwilling to commit a significant amount of their salary cap to a player like Karl-Anthony Towns.

It is interesting to note, though, that as per Begley, the Knicks could still get their hands on Towns if they really wanted to. This just goes to show how uncertain his future is with the Timberwolves amid his gargantuan contract.