Timberwolves rumors: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota not in good place right now

Through his first three seasons in the league, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star big man Karl Anthony Towns has established himself as one of the top players in the league. His continued ascension in his development has put him on pace to earn a new lucrative extension...

Through his first three seasons in the league, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star big man Karl Anthony Towns has established himself as one of the top players in the league.

His continued ascension in his development has put him on pace to earn a new lucrative extension that he will be up to eligible to ink this upcoming offseason. However, there could be a possible bump in the road working towards as Zach Lowe of ESPN indicated on his “The Lowe Post” podcast that both Towns and the Timberwolves are not on a good standing at this moment.

Very interesting comments I heard today from Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst on The Lowe Post podcast. It sounds like Karl-Anthony Towns and Minnesota might have a strained relationship.

If that’s the case, Suns should take Luka then offer literally everything they can for KAT. pic.twitter.com/plXBzAF4GP

— Evan Sidery (@esidery) May 18, 2018

This is certainly a new development as there hadn't been any previous indications that things had become strained in any manner on either side. It has presented a new wrinkle that could possibly stir the franchise's future with arguably their best player not necessarily seeing eye-to-eye with the organization.

What makes matters more eyebrow-raising is that the Timberwolves are coming off their first playoff appearance in 14 years that has seemingly the organization trending upwards with Towns being at the center of that. He made another leap forward in his development that saw him earn his first All-Star Game selections while proving to be one of the best big men in the league.

All of this would make sense for Towns to receive a lucrative contract over the offseason like Andrew Wiggins did last year given that he is set to enter the third year of his four-year, $25.7 million rookie deal. The five-year, $148 million extension that Wiggins received may have been delayed a bit, but the decision to work out a new deal with the former Kentucky product should be quite a quick process. However, this reported strained relationship could shake up the future plans drastically in the coming months. More importantly, it is something that will continue to be monitored moving forward around the league over the summer.