Inspired by Knicks Star, Karl Anthony-Towns Was Willing to Sacrifice $100M for Timberwolves Before Startling Trade

If there was a poll on the most shocking trade of 2024, Karl-Anthony Towns‘ Knicks move would’ve won by a handsome margin. In the “nobody saw it coming” moment, KAT’s 9-year stay in Minnesota ended at a moment when the Knicks made an offer that Tim Connelly could not refuse. Breaking up the Nova boys wasn’t easy for the Knicks, but the need of the hour was a center and they got one. But what does Karl-Anthony Towns think of his new teammates, especially Jalen Brunson? JB left $113 million on the table for his extension just to help the franchise challenging championship team. And now, KAT will be a beneficiary of it.

Would he be able to make the sacrifice himself to help the Timberwolves who were clearly in need of some clearance? With the legal battle between the Timberwolves’ ownership, it was only a matter of time before the franchise broke up the team that reached the Western Conference Finals. It was more of a matter of when rather than if. Now it happened, but assuming from KAT’s words, he’d have preferred staying in Minnesota, even if it needed a Jalen Brunson-like sacrifice.

During the latest episode of Club Shay Shay Podcast, the former Wolves star sat down with Shannon Sharpe. When the question about the pay cut came up, Karl-Anthony Towns showed zero hesitation in claiming that he’d have gladly left the bag if it meant a stronger pack. “If we can keep it together. Show me that. We all gotta get in the room and say we’re gonna do it. So I mean, Jalen Brunson, shout out to him,” the Dominican said when Shannon asked whether he’d take a pay cut over $100 million to keep the Timberwolves together. And yes, you guessed it, the podcast was recorded before the trade. That’s why KAT was eager to make the sacrifice.

“You know what? You can’t put a value on the fact that he’s at where he wants to be,” KAT continued. “He’s with his father, he’s super comfortable, he has a team that believes in him. I think that belief that a team and organization could give you is something it’s worth a lot, a lot, a lot of money. They give him that belief. And I think that he felt that was the best situation for him, and I root for him for that.”

Thanks to that, the Knicks are now in a comfortable situation to facilitate the $220,441,984 contract of Towns. The Knicks got Julius Randle’s $117 million contract off the books. Donte DiVincenzo on the other hand was on one of the best value-for-money contracts in the league. But something had to give and unfortunately enough, the guard became a part of the package. Before the trade, KAT had bigger dreams for the T’Wolves.

Karl-Anthony Towns wanted nothing but the best for the Minnesota Timberwolves, including the championship

The Timberwolves’s 2024 playoffs story was a Cinderella one, to say the least. Not many expected the young side to go on to the conference finals. With Anthony Edwards breaking out as the next face of the league, the time was nigh for the Championship to come to Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns was all in for that which he discussed in the podcast.

“Minnesota deserves a championship. They’ve been they’ve been asking for a championship since its inception as a team,” Towns said. “So I’ve always said I wanted to bring them a championship. I wanted to be a part of the championship team that finally brings that ring in that parade down to first half. We just gotta keep working, keep working.”

Sadly that won’t be possible anymore but hey, on the bright side, the Knicks need a championship too. So maybe, just maybe, Town might bring a chip to a city crying out for glory, be it not the city of Minnesota.