The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a trade with the New York Knicks that sends Karl-Anthony Towns to the Big Apple for a package including Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the teams announced Wednesday, five days after the deal was first reported. The Timberwolves are also receiving a protected first-round pick from the Knicks that originally belonged to the Detroit Pistons.
Here are the full details of the trade, which is a three-team deal that also includes the Charlotte Hornets:
- Knicks receive: Karl-Anthony Towns
- Timberwolves receive: Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, 2025 first-round pick (via Knicks via Pistons)
- Hornets receive: Charlie Brown, DaQuan Jeffries, Duane Washington Jr., two second-round picks (via Knicks), one second-round pick (via Timberwolves)
This blockbuster marks the second major acquisition for New York this offseason after its mega deal bringing in Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in June. The Knicks lost starting center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, and their expected starting center before the Towns acquisition, Mitchell Robinson, will miss the beginning of the season due to injury.
“We are beyond excited to welcome Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks family,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Karl-Anthony brings a skillset that is unique to the game of basketball. He possesses a blend of playmaking, shooting, rebounding and defending that in combination with his size allows him to compete at a level that is rare in this league. Karl-Anthony has demonstrated throughout his career to be a high caliber player and person on and off the court who will complement the type of team and culture we continue to build in New York.”
With Towns, the Knicks have found a franchise center; however, he’s a distinctly different player Robinson and previously Hartenstein as they operate primarily around the basket. Towns is arguably the best big-man shooter in NBA history, and he will create an entirely new dimension for New York offensively.
The Timberwolves are coming off of their best season in franchise history. Towns was an integral part of their second-round upset of the defending champion Denver Nuggets, but he is also early in a super max contract that would have grown prohibitive for Minnesota over time. With Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels both starting hefty new contracts this season, the Timberwolves seemingly decided they needed to move quickly on a deal.
Towns thanked Timberwolves fans in a social media post after the deal was announced:
In acquiring Randle, they have effectively turned a $50 million offense-first center into a $30 million offense-first center while added one of the NBA’s best shooters in DiVincenzo. Sacrificing Towns’ shooting at power forward will sting, but his offensive value was muted playing next to another big man in Rudy Gobert. Randle’s secondary creation will go a long way for Minnesota, especially with the bench lineups that struggled when Edwards rested last season.
“I want to sincerely thank Julius for his contributions to both the Knicks organization and our community,” Rose added. “An All-Star and All-NBA player, Julius worked tirelessly day in and day out to represent the Knicks organization with grit, grace and tremendous skill. Julius played a major role in establishing the foundation and culture of our team and we cannot thank Julius enough for what he did for this city and organization both on and off the court.”
Towns had been a rumored Knicks target for some time. He is represented by Jessica Holtz of CAA. Knicks president Leon Rose was notably the ormer head of CAA’s basketball division, and the Knicks have long fostered a reputation for acquiring CAA clients. Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby are all represented by CAA.
Blockbuster trades are rare in September, and the restrictions introduced by the new CBA pushed the odds even further against a deal of this magnitude. However, the NBA rarely disappoints when it comes to offseason surprises, and it just gave us a big one with perhaps the most significant move of the offseason coming months after the free agency dust settled.
