What happened on Sunday between New York and Minnesota keeps reverberating.
After spending Sunday fighting a meaningless war against the salty Minnesota Timberwolves, the New York Knicks took a day off on Monday before going against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday for their second-to-last preseason exhibition.
With so much going on last weekend, we’re still hearing and finding buried nuggets and quotes from those involved in Sunday’s matchup between these former friends and turned foes.
Here’s the latest we’ve fetched.
Tom Thibodeau
On the Julius Randle and Karl-Anthony Towns comparisons:
“I think they’re different players in some ways, but similar in others.
“I think Julius is more of a power forward, but a terrific player. When you look at what he did for us, the scoring, the passing, rebounding, but it’s at the power forward position.”
On why the Knicks pursued Towns late in the offseason:
“We had a great need obviously with Mitchell Robinson [injured] and Isaiah [Hartenstein] losing [him] in free agency. We needed a center. That was a big part of it.
“I think the center position—when I look at Karl, I like his versatility and his size is important to us.”
On Towns’ experience and growth and what he expects from KAT:
“For all players each year, they’re going to learn and they’re going to grow and their experience teaches them a lot.
“He sacrificed a lot (in Minnesota). I think he understands the concept of winning. They had a great season last year and I thought he played at a very high level both offensively and defensively.
“We want him to be Karl. I don’t want to take away from any of the things that he does well. Play off your teammates, understand what they do well and put winning at the forefront.
“As players get older, there’s a better understanding [that] you’re not doing this by yourself. You have to do it together. And I think he’s there now. Obviously a lot different than he was, as anyone would be five, six, seven years ago. I think he’s learned from all of his experiences.”
On the Knicks’ defense and offense one week from opening day:
“Obviously, our defense is probably a little ahead of our offense right now. So we have to continue to work on that, but I think it’s important to understand, you have to win games in a lot of different ways.
“If we’re not shooting well, we have to do it with our defense, our rebounding, taking care of the ball, that sort of thing.
“But obviously, there’s a lot of room for improvement for us.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On his emotions after the trade and playing against his former team so quickly after it went down:
“Emotions were too much—nah, I joke.
“It was a lot of emotion, some amazing moments and times and nine years of my life in Minnesota, and a place that I’ve called home.
“So guys who are not just teammates to me, but brothers, real-life brothers. So it definitely was a wild, wild day, definitely coming to work.
“I think regardless, the game of basketball, the business of basketball, it’s just gonna keep going. It doesn’t matter how you feel, it doesn’t matter how life is treating you. You’ve just gotta come here ready every day, put your city on the map, and do the best you can for your teammates and your organization.
“Obviously (it was) a tough day for me, but I went out there and did the best I could for my teammates. Just wanted to do what I could to help us win this game.”
On his defensive responsibilities with the Knicks:
“It’s just accepting the responsibility of being the person who’s quarterbacking and anchoring the defense.
“We’ve got amazing wings as everyone knows with OG [Anunoby], Mikal [Bridges], Josh [Hart], and Jalen [Brunson] really doing a great job of putting pressure on ball handlers, as well. That’s gonna give us the wins, and we have a lot of goals in mind.
“For us to even come close to accomplishing that, it takes us to solidify the defense, our defensive game plan, and identity. Doing that here again is gonna be a key for us to do something special in the city.”
On adjusting to playing with the Knicks offensively:
“The biggest adjustment has been learning where I’m needed to space the court and refreshing Thibodeau’s terminology from earlier in my career.
“I’m a different player than I was when I was with Thibs the first time around. Both of us are adjusting to each other, but we have a solid foundation built from before.”
On being a defensive leader for the Knicks:
“(Defense) is going to give us the wins, and we have a lot of goals in mind. And for us to even come close to accomplishing that it takes us to solidify our defense, defensive game plan, and identity.
“Minnesota understood that. We found that out last year where we solidified our identity as a defensive team. We found ourselves in a position of success.
“Doing that here again is going to be a key for us to do something special in the city.”
Jalen Brunson
On the team’s mindset heading into the season:
“Everyone just comes in with the right mindset.
“A lot of great people first and foremost are great competitors, guys who want to win. And I think in any locker room, that is a recipe for success.”
Mikal Bridges
On the Knicks needing time to adjust after adding Towns:
“I think it’s a lot more we can do, but I think we’re just trying to figure it out. We just got KAT right before training camp, so just trying to figure it out.
“It’s going to take some time to figure it out more.”