The New York Knicks decided one blockbuster move wasn’t enough during their offseason, and perhaps they had one Villanova player too many days before training camp opened.
And after all, what would the NBA be without a team attempting to shatter the Earth with a deal right before teams officially reconvene for the next season?
The Knicks are going all-in on June, acquiring All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports. Outgoing, at least at the moment, appears to be Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick.
Randle is recovering from shoulder surgery after a nasty fall in late January, and Jalen Brunson took off in his absence, helping the Knicks to within a game of the Eastern Conference finals. He joins a team that went a step further in the Timberwolves, who made it to the Western Conference finals — making this a big move but not necessarily a needle-mover for either side, at first glance.
It looks like the Timberwolves, embroiled in an ownership battle between longtime owner Glen Taylor and the presumed group that includes baseball great Alex Rodriguez, are cutting costs with Towns beginning a $220 million extension he signed a couple years back.
That’s not the greatest sign for the future, considering the surprising run this franchise made in capturing attention across the basketball world as they pulled off a stunning upset of the Denver Nuggets in the second round, headlined by Anthony Edwards.
Towns seemed to nestle into a supporting role nicely after years of being cast as the franchise savior — but now he’ll head to the Knicks and back to his old position of center. The Knicks were searching for help when it was revealed Mitchell Robinson will miss time following left foot surgery, and they were already dealing with the defection of center Isaiah Hartenstein, who signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency.
Towns can certainly go shot-for-shot with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, and the two have history, tussling in a wrestling match in Philadelphia some years ago. And Towns has history with Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks coach who is firmly entrenched with the franchise, and chief decision-maker Leon Rose.
Thibodeau demands defensive accountability and has the wing pieces to make the Knicks even more dynamic than last season, assuming OG Anunoby can stay healthy with Mikal Bridges joining from the crosstown Brooklyn Nets. When one factors in Josh Hart, the versatility is evident and perhaps the thought is that personnel can make up for Towns’ shortcomings on the defensive end, noting his improvement with the Timberwolves as they elevated to elite status in the West over the last year.
But the big improvement, of course, is Towns’ gifts on the offensive end. Randle was rugged as a main ball handler, unafraid to engage in contact on offense and largely durable as a Knick until last season’s setback.
Randle is a capable scorer and can give the Timberwolves some playmaking alongside Edwards, but he’s not as efficient or dangerous as Towns is on that end. Towns is probably a better fit alongside Brunson, being able to create space for the wings with his shooting. He was at nearly 42% from 3 last year — a huge safety valve for Edwards and point guard Mike Conley.
The Knicks were at their best last year with Hartenstein, Randle and Anunoby during their very short time together, until Randle’s season-ending injury Jan. 27. They dominated the glass and beat up on teams with their size and all three have the ability to make plays facing the basket.
That element of the Knicks identity is gone, and DiVincenzo was a big part of that as well, making for the fun “Nova Knicks” storyline, with so many Villanova players on the roster.
But that has been turned into something else, as the Knicks aren’t just playing to be playoff party-crashers anymore. There are real expectations now, and the Celtics showed they were far and away the best team in the conference, and real personnel moves are going to be necessary in order to compete with them, let alone catch the champions.
Getting Bridges, who can defend three positions — if not four — while being an efficient scorer, is one. It seems like the Knicks believe Towns is the other, but it takes a lot of squinting to see the Knicks emerging at the top of a crowded and competitive conference.
It feels a bit weird when one considers Randle. Perhaps he might not have been the best fit alongside this roster, as it needed a natural center and he would’ve been playing out of position and facing the prospect of taking a lesser role with the roster changes.
But two days ago, he was alongside many Knicks dignitaries at a court dedication bearing his name in the Bronx, at Earl Monroe Renaissance Basketball School. Standing alongside Randle at this dedication was Thibodeau, and even if this trade came together quickly as training camp will begin for all teams next week, there could be some hurt feelings as Randle helped turn the Knicks around with his signing in 2019.
But this is big business in the NBA — big bold business — and Randle and DiVincenzo seem like casualties to the Knicks’ big dreams. The franchise has emerged from the darkness following years of irrelevance, but now must reconcile with the burden of true expectations, even if it doesn’t feel they truly improved their lot in this ever-changing NBA life.