NBA
Video: Karl-Anthony Towns Says He Was Told of Knicks Trade 4 Min. Before Shams Post
David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images
Karl-Anthony Towns says he learned he had been traded to the New York Knicks “four minutes” before NBA insider Shams Charania broke the news on X.
“By the time the shock wore off, Shams had already Tweeted,” Towns said on Friday’s episode of Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart’s The Roommates Show podcast (4:00 mark of the video below.)
Charania reported the terms of the blockbuster trade, which sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves, around 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 27.
Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Knicks have acquired Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick via Detroit, sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. pic.twitter.com/FafQlY48Y1
Towns is preparing to make his regular-season Knicks debut on Tuesday on the road against the Boston Celtics.
The big man, who spent the first nine seasons of his NBA career in Minnesota, said Timberwolves president Tim Connelly came alone to his house to inform him in person that he had been traded.
Three friends and Towns’ father were there with him when Connelly shared the news, the newest Knicks star told Hart and Brunson.
“Honestly, it’s a tough situation regardless of what would’ve happened, but the fact that happened that way, I’ve got to give him respect,” Towns said.
Connelly told reporters at the introductory press conference for Randle, DiVincenzo and Keita Bates-Diop earlier this month that he had found it difficult to complete the trade for Towns.
“The whole idea of trading people I think is pretty gross and weird, and it’s hard to get players of this caliber, so to ensure to do that, we had to give up one of the best players to ever put on a Timberwolves jersey,” Connelly said. “As good of a player as he is, he’s a better guy, so New York got a heck of a player and a better person. He’ll be missed.”
Connelly was hired by the Timberwolves in 2022, seven years after the franchise selected Towns with the No. 1 pick of the 2015 draft.
Towns went on to average win the Rookie of the Year award in 2015-16 before going on to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds for the next five seasons.
He earned four All-Star nods in Minnesota, most recently getting the honor in 2023-24 before helping the Timberwolves reach the Western Conference Finals. He left Minnesota having recorded career averages of 22.9 points and 10. 8 rebounds through nine seasons.
Towns is now set to reunite with his old team twice this season, starting with his Dec. 19 return to downtown Minneapolis and followed by a Jan. 17 home game at Madison Square Garden.
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