NBA Insider Rips Notion Karl-Anthony Towns is ‘Soft,’ Says Knicks Star Has ‘Finesse’

At least one person in the NBA doesn’t want to hear about Karl-Anthony Towns’ reputation as a soft player.

Speaking to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the anonymous NBA insider explained that describing Towns as “soft” isn’t a fair assessment of his playing style.

“Finesse player? Yes. Soft player? No,” the NBA source said. “I think it’s the whole thing that happened with Jimmy Butler. In today’s world, somebody can write a script about you and that s–t never changes.”

The person also described Towns as being “like Joel Embiid without the power” and the New York Knicks didn’t acquire him to make him a defensive stalwart in the paint.

While there have been accusations that Towns doesn’t play physical enough given his size, the “soft” label really stuck after Butler went at him and Andrew Wiggins during an infamous practice when all three were teammates with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018.

Butler, who was seeking a trade at the time, reportedly yelled at Towns and Wiggins for being “soft” and said they “ain’t s–t.”

Towns has shown at times that the label is unwarranted. He did a very good job defending Nikola Jokić when the T-Wolves played the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals last season.

Now that Towns has been traded to the Knicks, he will be reunited with Tom Thibodeau. Thibs was the coach of the Timberwolves from 2016 to ’19. There was a time when they didn’t seem to get along due to a difference in philosophy, but Towns said in October 2023 that any past issues had been put behind them long ago.

The Knicks are hoping that Towns can add another dimension to their roster as they try to improve on last season’s run to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He averaged 21.8 points on 41.6 percent three-point shooting and 8.3 rebounds per game in 63 starts during the 2023-24 campaign.

Towns and the Knicks will begin the 2024-25 season on Oct. 22 against the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics at TD Garden.