Knicks Wanted Karl-Anthony Towns for Years

The New York Knicks have fulfilled a goal that they have had for years when they acquired Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick from the Detroit Pistons.

Towns had been floated in trade rumors for a while, including moves to the Knicks, and the trade confirmed the interest.

“The Knicks have long been linked to Towns. Rose was his agent when he was the head of CAA. Towns Sr. attended Rose’s first game as Knicks president. Rose and New York exec William Wesley are close friends of the Towns family,” SNY insider Ian Begley writes. “They had periodically checked in with Minnesota on Towns, dating back to at least last summer. But there never seemed to be much traction. As recently as last week, people with the Knicks told associates that they were prepared to start the season with Randle and see how it went.”

Something changed in the last few days that opened the door for a trade to happen. The Knicks wanted to keep DiVincenzo, but once news came about that Mitchell Robinson would be out until at least December, they appeared more willing to make a deal.

The Knicks needed a center, and now they have exactly who they wanted in Towns. The Knicks could have negotiated a long-term deal with Randle that would have been in the neighborhood of Towns’ four-year, $220 million contract.

Now that Towns is in the fold, the Knicks have their long-coveted top player to team up with Jalen Brunson as they look to bring New York back into the championship contender conversation in hopes of winning the NBA Finals for the first time since 1973.

Towns and the Knicks are set to begin training camp this week.

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