Report: ‘The Knicks have always had an eye on’ Karl-Anthony Towns

The Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks hype train has been on the tracks for basically two years now, and there’s a fresh report linking the Timberwolves big man to The Big Apple.

Fred Katz, the Knicks beat writer for The Athletic, has laid out a list of six stars the Knicks could monitor for a trade this summer and Towns is on it along with Paul George, Donovan Mitchell, Miles Bridges, Dejounte Murray and DeMar DeRozan.

Here’s what Katz had to say about the idea of a Wolves-Knicks deal involving Towns.

“The Knicks have always had an eye on Towns, though this front office has never engaged in serious trade negotiations for him, according to league sources. He’s a CAA client, one of the most-skilled offensive bigs ever to touch a basketball and though he had a complicated relationship with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau back when Thibodeau coached him in Minnesota, there are people around the coach who believe the two have reconciled and would work well together now,” Katz wrote.

He then suggested that Minnesota trading Towns on draft night “could make the most sense.”

All of that said, Katz wonders if Minnesota is willing to punt on the 2023-24 roster that had the No. 1 defense in the league and reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in two decades.

Related: What would a Wolves-Knicks trade involving KAT look like?

Katz’s college at The Athletic, Timberwolves beat writer Jon Krawczynski, has said “things could change” but the early offseason vibe is that Minnesota will prefer to “run it back” in 2024-25. The biggest unknown is how willing Minnesota will be to pay the luxury tax penalties that they’re on track to face with mega contracts for Towns, Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels.

And nobody knows how the ownership dispute will shake out. Krawczynski said on his podcast last week that arbitration results are unlikely to be determined until the fall, which means it could remain unclear who has majority control of the Timberwolves – Glen Taylor or the Marc Lore/Alex Rodriguez group – when the 2024-25 season begins.

Minnesota could shed salary during the season and avoid luxury tax penalties, and that may be the best path forward considering they’ll know where they stand in the NBA picture by the time the trade deadline comes in February 2025.

But as we’ve mentioned before, another thing Minnesota should consider is the long-term future of Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who were critical role players off the bench this season. Reid has a $15 million player option he could decline after next season and Alexander-Walker is an unrestricted free agent after next season. Do the Wolves want to risk letting one or both get to free agency or is it better to try and sign them to long-term contracts this summer?

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to Towns and the future Wolves, and if Katz’s instincts are on point then everyone will need to pay close attention to Towns rumors and reports during the NBA draft on June 26-27