When Karl-Anthony Towns returns to Minnesota, the Knicks got everything they bargained for

Both teams were aware of the magnitude.

The Minnesota Timberwolves traded away a fan favorite, the second best player in their history. They had just assembled their greatest roster ever, reaching the Western Conference Finals for the second time in the organization’s history. They were ready to build on their success.

But whether it was money, roster flexibility, basketball or something else, they traded for Karl-Anthony Towns in early October.

The New York Knicks also took a risk by adding the four-time All-Star. The squad, such as it is, was perseverance personified. But Julius Randle was entering the final season of his contract, and although he was eligible for a new contract term, he and the front office were so far apart in contract extension talks that a divorce was imminent. New York also said goodbye to Donte DiVincenzo, a man who played at Madison Square Garden for just one year but still seemed like he was born to coach in the building. He broke the franchise’s 3-point record for a single season. He was part of the Villanova core. He sank the Game 2 winner against the Philadelphia 76ers. His character – the courageous spear who screamed “not just a shooter” – was the personality of the team.

The Knicks and Wolves knew the trade would represent a transformation of their personalities. A few days into training camp, they made the trade anyway.

As the two teams prepare to face off on Thursday night, marking an emotional homecoming for Towns, who spent his first nine professional seasons with the Wolves, a reminder will come: Both the Knicks and Timberwolves are still forming their new identities, although not all The mystery lies with the three players mentioned above.

For the first time in history, a Tom Thibodeau team does not use traditional rim protection for most or all of the game. Last season, New York’s shot-blocking duo consisted of two centers, Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein. Cities are different. Of course, no one, including Thibodeau (who enthusiastically supported the trade), expected him to turn into something he’s not.

These Knicks, sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference at 16-10, are not operating as one contributor at a time in the same way as the Knicks, who came one win short of reaching the conference finals last season missed a two-series playoff run due to injury. These Knicks, including DiVincenzo’s boss, would slap you in the face with their identity. These will fly past you and take great shots wherever you go.

Towns’ presence changed them, and really, what more could the Knicks have asked for from him?

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They rank third in points per possession, putting them in the top tier of scariest offensive fleets, thanks largely to him. There’s a good argument to be made that he was New York’s best player this season. His pick-and-roll chemistry is blossoming with Jalen Brunson, who finished fifth in MVP voting last season. The two seem to have played well over 26 games together.

Towns is averaging 24.8 points and is good for a few low-profile, one-handed dimes a night. These are often throws across the field that he can hurl over defenders because he is taller than everyone else on the field.

He’s the ultimate quick decision maker, always shielding, cutting or sliding to the side to clear passing lanes for 3s, a counterpart to Randle’s stickier style. Nobody follows a fast break like Towns. When Josh Hart grabs a defensive rebound and rushes the other way, he knows he has his big man behind him, ready to throw down a 27-footer from the top of the key. Towns hits 44 percent of his long balls. When closeouts are too aggressive, he attacks them and pushes his way to the rim. The efficiency metrics are off the charts and are all at career highs.

He leads the league with 13.9 rebounds per game. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Knicks’ defensive rebound rate improves significantly when Towns is on the court. Towns’ defensive rebound rate and overall rebound rate individually rank first in the NBA. And according to Second Spectrum, he also leads the league in contested rebounds per game.

The Knicks lost a 7-footer, Hartenstein, in free agency; another, Robinson, was injured; and sent Randle, a double-digit rebounder, to Minnesota. They’re small, starting at 6’3″ and OG Anunoby at power forward. And yet things weren’t so ugly between Towns and the gluttonous Hart. The Knicks are in the top half of the league in overall rebound rate, an acceptable number without having many missed shots to fix anyway.

But while they score with the best, they also give up some points.

Towns is neither a rim protector nor a top pick-and-roll defender. His feet on defense can be heavy. At times, opponents picked Towns apart on defense, just as they did at other times on the perimeter with Brunson or Mikal Bridges, who wasn’t the stopper New York was hoping for when it dealt a ton of draft picks for him in July.

The Knicks have tried various pick-and-roll coverages against Towns, dropping him back to the basket or sending him to the level of the screen or beyond. He can draw too many fouls, which is one reason why, in a perfect world, the Knicks would lean toward more conservative pick-and-roll coverages with their center, who is destined for All-Star honors and perhaps more. He’s also prone to stupid fouls on offense, but the Knicks need to make sure Towns stays on the court.

He has weaknesses, but none surprised the Knicks. They understood who they were acquiring. Like the Wolves, they knew it would take more than a minute for the NBA’s biggest trade of the fall to happen.

Make no mistake: Minnesota is still figuring itself out, too.

Julius Randle drives to the basket against the Warriors. (David Gonzales/Imagn Images)

Randle may have been the three-time All-Star heading to Minnesota, but DiVincenzo was the final player to make the Timberwolves say yes. According to league sources, the Wolves had been chasing DiVincenzo in free agency in 2023 and almost picked him up until he decided to play with his college friends Brunson and Hart in New York. A few months ago, Minnesota President Tim Connelly longed for him. The Timberwolves would not have made this trade without his inclusion.

But now a man who was one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters last season can’t hit a jumper anymore — and the misses aren’t just numerous; They hit the iron hard enough to leave a mark. With the Knicks, he threw a ball out and stole the starting job away from Quentin Grimes. Now he’s coming off the bench again.

Normally, DiVincenzo could close his eyes and still knock down two of five three-point shots in the corner. So far this season he has shot just 26 percent from that range. He’s only hitting 32 percent from deep overall. Some of the noises are ugly and loud enough to wake Randle from his defensive sleep.

Despite such mistakes, Randle has had his moments in Minneapolis: a game-winner, one of his most efficient seasons and better defense of late. Once again, he is averaging more than 20 points per game. But the fit next to four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert is clunky. Both are best around the basket, Gobert because he runs pick-and-rolls or creates space for rebounds, and Randle because he posts or eliminates smaller pushovers on the way to the basket. It’s reminiscent of the previous dynamic between Randle and the rim-diving Robinson, although Gobert has more skill with the ball than Robinson.

However, the Wolves are up to fourth place in points allowed per possession. The defense is getting better. A season after winning 56 games and winning three away games in the NBA Finals, they are 14-11 and in seventh place in the crowded West.

However, if the Wolves don’t improve, the cap won’t be high enough.

They find themselves in the bottom half of the league offensively and now have to deal with Randle’s future, although his expiring contract is one of the reasons this trade makes them cheaper in the long run. (Towns makes a huge salary and is under contract through 2028.) The Timberwolves have a number of players who don’t always reinforce each other, although they have found their stride defensively. They have led the league in points allowed per possession since November 28th – and are more than 10 points per 100 possessions behind them in second place. To illustrate: the gap between second and 20th place is smaller during this time.

It’s also plausible that the Knicks won’t be able to reach the heights they want as planned.

Just a few months before moving on to Towns, they completed another deal that sent four unprotected first-round picks, another protected, and an unprotected first-round trade to the Brooklyn Nets for Bridges, who would gobble up the ball-handlers on the edge but has not yet reached this level. New York currently ranks 16th in points allowed per possession, although that number is rising. The goal is to win multiple playoff series this year or in the near future. But whether we’re talking about 2025 or beyond, this team will still have both Brunson and Towns, two defensemen who play hard but have physical limitations on defense and can attack elite offenses late in the postseason.

The wolves have problems. This also applies to the Knicks.

But at least the Knicks can rest easy knowing they’ll survive as third in the weaker conference and, perhaps more importantly, the man they brought in has been as dominant as they hoped.

Required reading

(Top photo by Karl-Anthony Towns: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)