Karl-Anthony Towns trade between Knicks, T’Wolves reflects new CBA realities

The T-Wolves and Knicks “shocked the NBA world” Friday night by agreeing to a deal to send C Karl-Anthony Towns to N.Y. for F Julius Randle, G Donte DiVincenzo, F Keita Bates-Diop and a protected first-round pick from the Pistons, according to Chris Hine of the MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE. The move is a surprise as the T’Wolves at “long last” had a contending team after making a run to the Western Conference Finals last season. Towns’ new four-year, $200M supermax deal starts this season, and the deal would have given the team “limited flexibility down the road” (MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE, 9/29). In N.Y., Stefan Bondy noted Towns has been linked to the Knicks ever since his former agent, current Knicks President Leon Rose, took over the front office in 2020. Towns remains a client of CAA, an agency that has “close ties to the Knicks.” With Randle, the Knicks are trading an All-Star and “one of the players most responsible for resuscitating the organization over the past few seasons.” Just last Wednesday, Randle was part of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, with the court named after Randle (N.Y. POST, 9/28).

STUNNING THE LEAGUE: SI.com’s Chris Mannix wrote “across the NBA — and all across NBA social media — the deal raised eyebrows.” The “instant reaction from rival executives in the aftermath of the deal leaking out: This is about money.” Towns has four years, $220.4M left on his contract, a number that “looks even bigger when alongside huge deals for Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.” With Minnesota’s ownership group “in the midst of a ‘Game of Thrones’-like battle for control of the franchise, there have been steady whispers that the T-Wolves wouldn’t be free spenders for long” (SI.com, 9/28).  In Minnesota, Jim Souhan wrote it was a “stunning trade that surprised even the NBA insiders who always seem to know what’s going to happen long before it actually happens.” The trade also fits a “pattern” for T’Wolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly — “it’s shocking, but logical.” Connelly “is a cross between a mad scientist and an expressionist painter,” and also has “helped build a deep, talented front office.” Souhan: “Most important, this will be the best roster in Wolves history” (MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE, 9/29). In St. Paul, Jace Frederick wrote the T’Wolves “have proven to be nothing if not willing risk-takers, who believe this roll of the dice won’t hinder success in the present, and could help extend it well into the future” (St. Paul PIONEER PRESS, 9/28).

GOTTA TRUST HIM: On Long Island, Steve Popper wrote Knicks fans can trust Rose and his front office as they have “earned the benefit of the doubt by taking a franchise from decades of dysfunction to a smooth-running contender” (NEWSDAY, 9/28). On Long Island, Neil Best asked are the Knicks “the best pro sports team in the New York area?” That “we do not yet know.” But they are “the most interesting.” The buttons Rose has pushed as the Knicks President have “been the right ones.” Best: “There is no general manager in New York who has built up more goodwill, and now he is using some of that political capital to go all-in for a championship” (NEWSDAY, 9/29).

WAS IT A GOOD TRADE? THE ATHLETIC’s John Hollinger asked, “Did the T’Wolves just cheap out on their best team in two decades now that Glen Taylor is back in the owner’s saddle?” He also asked of acquiring Towns, “Did the Knicks needlessly chase an expensive shiny object who happens to be a former Leon Rose client?” (THE ATHLETIC, 9/28). In N.Y., Kristian Winfield wrote the Knicks “face another challenge — staying under the second apron with a ballooning payroll as they pursue an elusive NBA title, the franchise’s first in over 50 years.” The Knicks’ current payroll sits at $185.35M for the 2024-25 season, but that figure “could change with more moves” before regular-season rosters are due on Oct. 21. The team has “until then to make decisions” with respect to the $188.931M second apron. The Knicks have $3.58M worth of wiggle room, which “technically classifies them as under the second apron until a transaction moves them north of the threshold” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/28).

CALLING THE SHOTS: The Ringer’s Howard Beck mentioned the winner of the trade was NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, “because this is what the league wanted.” Beck: “They wanted teams to have a virtual hard cap and force teams to break things up.” He added, “If you have too many max players, you’re not going to be able to keep them for very long. The Celtics are going to be in this position before too long themselves — maybe they get another year before they have to make some really tough decisions. … The irony of it is that these new restrictions, the second apron, was aimed primarily at two big-market teams — the Clipper and the Warriors — who were abusing the system to an extent that made everyone uncomfortable in the league. The irony is now it’s a small-market team that is getting broken up. … I don’t think this was a basketball trade. This was a payroll trade, this was a CBA trade, this was a second apron trade, this was an Adam Silver trade” (“The Ringer NBA Show,” 9/28).