NBA scouts’ and execs’ early insights on the Karl-Anthony Towns trade

NBA teams spent more than $2.6 billion in free agency and executed more than two dozen trades last summer in the annual transaction extravaganza.

But have any stars who changed teams had a clearly positive impact on their new team?

We asked NBA executives, scouts and other league insiders to weigh in on how the offseason’s biggest additions — from traded players such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in New York and Julius Randle in Minnesota to free agent signings such as Paul George in Philadelphia and Klay Thompson in Dallas — are shaping up two months into the season.

Jump to league intel:
Wolves back in trade market?
Scouts on KAT’s early impact
Bridges off to ‘disappointing’ start
Optimism for Philly? | Latest on Klay, DeMar
Harden ‘system’ update (added usage rate!)

Two months into the season, what’s the verdict on the Knicks-Wolves trade?

Windhorst: Randle has scored efficiently in Minnesota, but it hasn’t been a perfect fit. He doesn’t stretch the floor like the player he’s replacing, Towns, and scouts and executives have repeatedly mentioned his penchant for how his ball-stopping has at times gummed up the Wolves’ offense. That Minnesota is hovering around .500 isn’t helping, though the Wolves’ improved effort on defense during a three-game win streak hints at a potential turnaround.

“When you watch them you can see the guys who can be free agents [Randle and Naz Reid] get frustrated at times,” one scout told ESPN. “If they were winning more it probably wouldn’t be an issue, but it’s one of the things that happens when a team underachieves.”

Bontemps: That’s why Minnesota has been labeled by league decision-makers as a potential player between now and the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Yes, the Wolves are coming off comfortable victories against the reeling Lakers and shorthanded Clippers, but they have higher aspirations than battling for the last play-in spot, which is where they currently sit.

“Just because you’re trading for talent, it has to be the right fit. They have to learn and adjust,” a scout said. “Making a trade that late [right before training camp] is hard. So I’m empathetic.”

Not only has Randle’s fit been clunky, but multiple opposing scouts and executives said they think Donte DiVincenzo‘s changing role has played a part in the Timberwolves’ slow start (he’s shooting 35.6% overall and 33.1% from 3 after shooting 44.3% and 40.1%, respectively, in New York last season). Guard Mike Conley‘s struggles (he’s shooting 33.3% on 2-pointers) haven’t helped either.

“Donte is being asked to playmake more than he ever has before,” an East scout said.

Windhorst: For the Knicks, Towns is crushing it at the offensive end, averaging his most points in five years (25.1 per game) and shooting a career-high 45% on 3s. With the Knicks short on size with both Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa sidelined, Towns has been tremendous on the boards, averaging a league-leading 13.1 per game.

Internally, the Knicks believe that with returns of their centers — Achiuwa made his season debut Thursday, and Robinson could return early in the New Year — the overall view of the Towns acquisition will turn hugely positive.

Bontemps: Of all of the stars to join new teams, Towns is the one who has truly delivered. Yes, Towns’ rim protection numbers remain concerning for a defense that ranks 21st in the league. “Would I like to challenge shots better? Yeah,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said earlier this week.

But Towns was acquired to juice New York’s offense. And the two-man game between him and Jalen Brunson has helped create the league’s most efficient offense. “He’s been exactly what they hoped he would be,” an executive said of Towns’ early impact.

The Towns trade is working for New York. What about the Mikal Bridges deal?

Bontemps: When asked for an assessment of Bridges’ start with the Knicks, one scout’s response was immediate. “Disappointing. He has to find himself again,” they said

After hitting seven 3-pointers in Sunday’s rout of the New Orleans Pelicans, perhaps that process is underway for the star wing. But after trading five first-round picks to drag him away from the rival Brooklyn Nets via trade, Bridges has struggled to the point that last week teammate Josh Hart gave an impassioned locker room speech in Bridges’ defense after he was benched down the stretch in a narrow win over the Hornets. Still, the Knicks have the league’s top offense despite Bridges career-worst numbers: He’s now 16-for-73 on above-the-break triples and is shooting 32.8% overall.

Windhorst: “Fair or not, the price they paid to trade for him will follow him,” one league executive said.

But Bridges’ acquisition should be looked at beyond those picks. Brunson signed a team-friendly extension right after the Knicks acquired Bridges, his close friend and former Villanova teammate alongside Hart. That contract will continue to bear fruit when it comes to roster building. Bridges is also playing a more classic 3-and-D role for New York and being asked to do less on offense compared with his time in Brooklyn. The Knicks’ play was for a three- to five-year window with this core group, and Bridges could end up being very valuable in that period — even if there will be some legacy from the trade to get him.

What are league insiders saying about Thompson’s fit with the Mavs?

Windhorst: Raw numbers will show Klay Thompson is having the worst shooting season of his career (38.1% overall, 36.8% from 3). The Mavs, who were in search of upgraded 3-point shooting with this big move, are taking nearly five fewer 3-pointers per game and are flat in their teamwide 3-point numbers from a year ago. Thompson has been a full-time starter but part-time finisher as coach Jason Kidd, like Warriors coach Steve Kerr last season, has sometimes sat Thompson at the end of games based on matchups.

“Klay has been an awkward fit so far,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “Derrick Jones [who left for the Clippers in free agency] shot the ball better and played better D for them last year.”

“Klay has been fine,” one scout said. “His impact will be determined in the postseason, and if he has a few big games, then no one will remember what he shot from 3 in November.”