The new NBA season is almost here, but the offseason still had one last flurry of fireworks before close. The New York Knicks are acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a protected first round draft pick from the Detroit Pistons, according to The Athletic. The Charlotte Hornets are also getting involved in the deal as a third team.
It’s a stunning deal from any perspective. The Wolves are coming off one of their best seasons ever after making a run to the Western Conference Finals, and now they’re trading one of the pillars of the franchise. The Knicks had already loaded up this offseason with an all-in trade for Mikal Bridges, and now they’ve filled their hole at center in the most dramatic way possible.
This trade reshapes the race for the NBA Finals in both conferences. We included both the Knicks and Wolves in our preseason list of the eight teams that can win the 2025 championship. Suddenly, two of the better teams in the NBA are dramatically different enter the season.
After a deal like this, we need to hand out instant grades from both sides.
Knicks grade for Karl-Anthony Towns trade
The Knicks have been aggressively trying to increase their championship equity since they made a bold trade to acquire OG Anunoby for R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley just before New Years Eve. The Knicks took home the No. 2 seed in the East last season by winning 50 games, but by the team reached the second round against the Indiana Pacers, they were broken down by injuries and exhaustion.
The Knicks opened the offseason by trading five first-rounds for Mikal Bridges. They close it by somehow pulling in one of the best offensive big men in the NBA in Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Knicks’ mission is clear: they want to beat the Boston Celtics and win the NBA championship. This trade is a success for them because it increases their odds at doing just that.
The Knicks not so subtlety feel like they are specifically constructing this team to take on the champion Celtics. They have two elite wing defenders now in Anunoby and Bridges, they have a fringe MVP candidate as an offensive engine in Jalen Brunson, and now they have a five-out look to match Boston’s with the addition of Towns.
Towns is one of the best shooting big men ever, and just hit 41.6 percent of his threes on more than five attempts per game. He’ll immediately improve the Knicks’ spacing while also being able to play minutes at center while Mitchell Robinson recovers from injury (he’s expected to be out until Dec. or Jan). The Knicks finished No. 11 in three-point rate and No. 13 in three-point percentage last season, and with Towns in the lineup, both of those numbers should improve. Most importantly, New York can now get to the same five-out look that helped Boston win the title after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis.
Can the Knicks hold up defensively with KAT at the five? That remains to be seen. Towns isn’t an intimidating back line rim protector, but the Knicks will bet that they have good enough defenders in front of him (Bridges, Anunoby, Josh Hart) to make his job easier. The Knicks were No. 10 in defensive rating last year, and lost their best defender when Isaiah Hartenstein signed with the Thunder in free agency. If the Knicks stick with KAT at the five, I would expect that to slightly drop. Robinson will be back eventually, and then the Knicks can go to looks with KAT at the four.
Losing DiVincenzo will hurt the backcourt depth. Behind Brunson, the Knicks don’t have a lot of other guards now. They are betting big on Deuce McBride. Bridges can play the two, and Hart is two-guard sized but plays much more like a forward. Cam Payne, Landry Shamet, and rookie Tyler Kolek could all be forced into minutes at some point.
It will be fascinating to see how head coach Tom Thibodeau manages this group. Thibodeau historically rides his starters with the league’s heaviest minutes load. At the same time, the only thing that really matters for the Knicks is the playoffs. Given the way the Knicks broke down physically in the second round last year, Thibs’ rotations could be one of the season’s biggest subplots.
Ultimately, this trade makes the Knicks better. Towns is a phenomenal offensive talent who can play with or without Mitchell Robinson. New York is taking on a ton of long-term money with Towns, but that’s a problem for another day. The Knicks are trying to win their first title since 1973, and I think they got closer today. They are still behind the Celtics, though.
Knicks grade: A
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Wolves trade grade for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo deal
The Wolves’ primary motivation for making this trade was saving money. Let’s be clear about that up front.
The Minnesota Timberwolves stand to save $26.5 million in payroll and luxury tax penalties if they don’t take on any additional salaries in this trade.
They are still set to be over the $188.9 million second apron this season. They’re $14.5 million above it with 15 players.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) September 28, 2024
The Wolves were too expensive to keep together long-term. The question was if they were too expensive to keep together for one more year, and ownership decided yes.
Minnesota had a lot of momentum coming into this season. They knocked off the champion Denver Nuggets in the second round last year and matched their longest playoff run in franchise history by going to the conference finals. The Wolves have an ascendant young star in Anthony Edwards. They had the league’s No. 1 defense, helmed by Rudy Gobert. KAT was the dynamite offensive player who could raise their ceiling whenever he got hot, but ultimately Minnesota decided he was expendable.
The Wolves’ biggest problem last season was their halfcourt offense. This trade makes their spacing worse despite adding an excellent wing shooter in DiVincenzo.
DiVincenzo will be a nice addition to the backcourt between Mike Conley and Edwards. He was an elite three-point shooter last season, making 40.1 percent of 8.7 attempts per game. He has one of the quickest triggers in the league, and also has enough size to be a capable perimeter defensive player.
Randle feels like a very odd fit next to Rudy Gobert. Randle will take three-pointers — he’s taken between five and eight per game the last four years in New York — but he’s really only had one good shooting season in his career at 29 years old. Randle hit 31.1 percent of his threes last year and and 34.3 percent the year before that. He’s also coming off a shoulder injury that shut him down on Jan. 27 last year. He may or may not be ready for the start of the season, but he should return to full health sometime soon.
If the Wolves are planning on playing Gobert, Randle, and Jaden McDaniels together, those lineups are going to be facing a significant shooting deficit. Minnesota also still has Naz Reid, who hit 41 percent of his threes last year. Reid gets better every year, and now he has to take another noticeable leap at 25 years old in what should be the biggest role of his career.
Could the Wolves trade Randle in season for a player who fits better? Sure, maybe. But given the fact that the organization clearly wants to trim payroll, it won’t be easy to find one. This trade makes Minnesota more sustainable at a time when they could have been trying to maximize their title odds. In reality, they were a long shot contender with Towns, and now feel like they are a little bit longer of a shot.
At the same time, the concerns about KAT’s durability and fit issues alongside Gobert are legitimate. He’s owed a huge contract that has four years, $220 million remaining on it. No one would claim KAT is the most dependable star. It’s not impossible that this move will be prescient in hindsight if Randle has a great shooting season or Reid levels up while KAT fails to meet the demands of Thibodeau. I don’t like it for Minnesota, but I don’t think it’s an embarrassment either.
