NBA
Timberwolves Waive Ex-Knicks F From Karl-Anthony Towns Trade
Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Minnesota Timberwolves will waive forward Keita Bates-Diop, a brief New York Knick.
While Bates-Diop did not play any games for either New York or Minnesota, the 28-year-old forward is set to be a bit of a unique footnote in Knicks history: he originally came to the Knicks in the deal hat acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets and he was later included in the more recent barter that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to Manhattan.
Bates-Diop, a second-round pick of Minnesota’s out of Ohio State in 2018, played 53 games between Phoenix and Brooklyn last season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds. He played two games with the Timberwolves, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go with five rebounds.
Even with Bates-Diop gone, Minnesota will have plenty of former metropolitan representation on its opening day roster: the Towns deal was headlined by the departure of starters Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle while Minnesota also obtained the Knicks’ first-round pick in 2025.
The Timberwolves face the Knicks in the first of two annual meetings in December. In the meantime, the defending Western Conference finalists open their season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, tipping off hours after the Knicks face the Boston Celtics (10 p.m. ET, TNT).