The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the NBA world this week with the Karl-Anthony Towns trade with the New York Knicks. Towns had established himself as a staple in the Minnesota community and had never shown any indication of wanting out even during some brutal seasons.
He was so beloved by the fanbase and the community that longtime Wolves beat reporter Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic found himself having to comfort his nine year old daughter when news of the trade broke.
During an appearance on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today,’ Krawczynski told host Malika Andrews that the very next day, Towns said goodbye to his kids in away that he never would have imagined.
“Late that night, on the night of the trade, I get a text from Karl-Anthony Towns who knows that these kids really look up to him. . .he said, ‘where are they gonna be tomorrow, do they have any sports? And I was just thinking, well yes Nita has a soccer tournament on Saturday,” Krawczynski said. “He shows up about halftime of the game, watches the game, takes pictures with everyone. . .after the game he pulls Nita aside, gives her a big hug, gives her some whispers of encouragement and just spends a little time with two kids who needed to say goodbye to him.”
Karl-Anthony Towns’ impact on the Timberwolves
It’s the end of an era for the Timberwolves following the trade sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks. Towns was the longest tenured player on the roster.
The Wolves selected Towns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He developed into one of the premier big men in the league across his nine seasons with the franchise. During Towns’ first six seasons in Minnesota, the team only made the playoffs once. They finished under .500 in all five of those seasons they missed the playoffs.
That’s why this past season was so significant for Towns and the Wolves fanbase. The team had posted three consecutive winning seasons and following back-t0-back first round exits, they reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004.
During this past season, Towns appeared in 62 games at a little over 32 minutes per game. 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.
Towns will now take his talents to New York where he is expected to help the Knicks transform into a legit contender.