With only days to go until the NBA pre-season tips off, the biggest move of the off-season may have just changed everything.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are nearing a deal to send All-Star centre Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick via the Detroit Pistons, Shams Charania of the Athletic reported on Friday.
It’s been an off-season of luxury for the Knicks, as the Eastern Conference stalwart gears up to make a title run in the East and rival the Boston Celtics. Earlier this summer, they swung a blockbuster deal to acquire Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets and re-signed OG Anunoby to create a fearsome tandem at the wing spots.
However, they lost steady backup big Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency to the Oklahoma City Thunder and every day starting big Mitchell Robinson has been dealing with injuries. Their centre spot was been a point of concern, and by acquiring Towns, they remedied it in a big way.
According to Jake Fischer, formerly of Yahoo Sports, the Knicks had been canvassing the league in search of help at the five.
Towns, 28, is a four-time all-star and two-time all-NBA selection. He averaged 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.7 blocks last season while shooting 50.4 per cent from the field.
Where his real strength lies though is in his ability to space the floor, as the former first-overall pick hit on 41.6 per cent of his 5.3 three-pointers per game last season.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, cleared up what had become a crowded centre rotation. Rudy Gobert was the everyday starter at the five for Minnesota last season and earned his fourth defensive player of the year award, while breakout big Naz Reid played from the bench and was named sixth man of the year.
In Randle, Minnesota acquired a three-time all-star and two-time all-NBA selection. He averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists last season but the 29-year-old suffered an injury in January that held him out for the rest of the year including the playoffs.
DiVincenzo, 27, enjoyed a breakout season in New York last season, averaging a career-high 15.5 points along with 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 44.3 per cent from the field and 40.1 per cent from three-point range.
