The New York Knicks have put themselves in a position to be players on the NBA trade market for the next superstar who seeks a change of scenery. They attempted to pull off a blockbuster last summer, as they negotiated for weeks with the Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell, who was eventually traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This summer, the Knicks were connected to some more big names such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid as future trade targets. Another name that has come up in trade circles is Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
There are some people around the basketball world who believe Minnesota could look to trade their big man if they fit alongside Rudy Gobert continues to be awkward. Recouping some of the assets they traded for Gobert would make some sense as the Timberwolves could rebuild the roster around Anthony Edwards.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks Updates
The Knicks certainly have the assets to pull off a trade for someone such as Towns. During a recent Lowe Post Pod hosted by Zach Lowe of ESPN, different trade scenarios between the Knicks and Timberwolves were discussed.
The package that was landed on was a huge one. The Knicks would send RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and five first-round picks, three from other teams that New York has acquired and two protected Knicks picks, in exchange for Towns. This was shared by The Strickland on X, formerly known as Twitter.
If the Knicks did that trade, it would send them straight to NBA purgatory. Towns is not someone that the Knicks should be going all-in as he has played in more than 50 games once in the last four seasons. His fit under Tom Thibodeau is something that can be questioned as well as their relationship with the Timberwolves wasn’t great.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks Updates
Acquiring Towns for that package also creates a major logjam in the frontcourt. Julius Randle is entrenched as the starting power forward while the team signed Mitchell Robinson to a four-year, $60 million deal last summer. What would you do with him, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims?
Trading away RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley without acquiring a player that makes the Knicks surefire contenders is how the old regime would have conducted business. Not to mention they would be unloading nearly all of their available draft picks, making it tough to complete other trades down the future.
This kind of all-in deal is what the Knicks should consider for a bonafide star, someone such as Embiid or Antetokounmpo. Doing so for Towns would set back the franchise after spending years building things back up to relevancy.
