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 (though you never know until you see it in person).
Source: New York Times
Source: New York Times
More on this storyline
The NBA’s media rights deals will nearly triple beginning with the 25-26 season, while expansion will also give existing owners an influx of money in the coming years. “I do not think they would tear the team apart, however, I do think there’s a possibility if the ownership change took place that Karl Towns’ role would be reevaluated,” said Windhorst. -via RealGM / June 4, 2024
The Wolves must decide whether they can trim salary without sacrificing team quality, and that is a challenging question in this case. As so few players outside of the starters make large amounts, there are not many options for deals there, so the choices get tough pretty quickly. Undoubtedly, the most fascinating of those is whether Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid would be able to step into Towns’ shoes as the starting power forward, and there is an argument that he can. In the stretch Towns missed in March and April, Reid averaged 17 points and seven rebounds on respectable efficiency as a starter. Towns’ disappointing help defense makes replacing him on that end much more manageable, especially with Gobert anchoring the defense. Still, theoretically parting with one of the league’s most intriguing 7-footers is a downgrade and even tougher to swallow for the team and fans alike if it is done primarily for financial reasons. Still, it is a path. -via New York Times / June 2, 2024