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The New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off a blockbuster trade on Friday evening with Wolves star forward Karl-Anthony Towns heading to the Knicks. The Timberwolves are receiving Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo as part of the trade.
Following news of the announcement, Towns took to social media to convey his no doubt shocked reaction. He simply posted an ellipsis and nothing more.
The trade certainly changes the landscape of both the Western and Eastern Conferences. The Knicks are poised to be contenders while the Timberwolves probably took a step back after reaching the Western Conference Finals last season.
But the Knicks, who were already considered a major threat in the East to the Boston Celtics following their acquisition of Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, just became that much more of a threat.
In addition to the aforementioned Bridges trade, the Knicks had also re-signed defensive ace OG Anunoby to give the team one of the top defensive wing combos in the league.
Towns’ addition now gives the Knicks additional firepower. The former Kentucky big man is coming off his fourth All-Star season during which he averaged 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists with splits of 50.4 percent shooting from the field, 41.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
With Mitchell Robinson expected to be sidelined due to injury to start the season, Towns will slot right in to the Knicks starting center spot. He is more equipped to play center than Julius Randle would have been. He also has familiarity with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, whom he played for in Minnesota from 2016-2019.
The Knicks finished with the second-best record in the East last season and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals before falling to the Indiana Pacers in seven games.
From a Timberwolves perspective, Julius Randle likely slots in as the team’s starting power forward alongside Rudy Gobert. It’s going to be interesting to see how that materializes as Randle is not quite the offensive threat that Towns is.
Last season, Randle was limited to only 46 games as he suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the 2024 playoffs.
But Donte DiVincenzo will give the Wolves additional firepower off the bench. But it’s likely the Wolves have taken a step back in an increasingly tough Western Conference. Last season, the Wolves reached the Western Conference Finals where they were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in five games.
