One of the biggest NBA trades in recent memory was a three-team trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New York Knicks. The other headliner was that the Knicks sent Julius Randle to the Timberwolves in the trade, and the Charlotte Hornets were added to ensure it all worked. However, the trade was made without Towns knowing.
On the most recent episode of “The Young Man and The Three,” Karl-Anthony Towns talked with Tommy Alter and Ben Stiller about how he found out he was traded from the Timberwolves to the Knicks and how surprising it was for everyone he knew because there were no rumors about it before the move. Timberwolves general manager Tim Connelly personally broke the news to him before his family.
Towns said, “I got a call saying that Tim wanted to come to the house to drop something off, and I said, well, I'll see him at team dinner on Sunday, but he was very adamant that he wanted to come see me at the house, so I told him to go by. I'll never forget. He came to the house and walked in with my dad and everyone else. The first words he said were, ‘You're starting your modeling career in New York.' I was initially confused, but then he said, ‘We traded you to New York,' and it shocked everyone.”
Karl-Anthony Towns had a long run with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He started his NBA career there in 2015 before being traded in 2024. He won Rookie of the Year in his first season and was named an All-Star four times during his time with the Timberwolves.
However, in a way, the trade still worked out for everyone involved. Towns' trade to the Knicks allowed him to patrol the paint in a less-crowded front court because the Timberwolves had just added Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. Heading to the Timberwolves worked out because he does not need to utilize the paint as much as Towns, and is not as big.
In his first season with the Knicks, Towns averaged 24.4 points,12.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, on a 52.6% field goal percentage. He is again in line for a big year this season in New York with the Knicks.
