The Minnesota Timberwolves walked into Madison Square Garden on Friday night and stomped the New York Knicks. They used their scorching hot shooting to carry them to a 116-99 win, knocking down 22 of 40 triples to spoil NY’s night. Although two members of their trade with each other from last September weren’t on the floor, the teams wrapped up their season series with a road blowout on each side. That deal, of course, sent Wolves franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to his hometown Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Each team won a game in the matchup, and it is time to evaluate both sides of the trade.
Knicks Won The Karl-Anthony Towns Trade
It’s only been slightly more than half a season, and a lot can happen between now and the playoffs. This deal will also have implications for both organizations for years to come. However, it’s safe to say that the Knicks won the KAT trade so far. Through 43 games, New York has a 4.5 game lead over Minnesota, Towns has been an incredible fit and is having a career year, and both Randle and DiVincenzo have disappointed.
If we look at the trade purely from a basketball perspective, the Knicks fleeced the Timberwolves. It sounds crazy to say after just a half-season, but that’s how well it has worked out for NY. Towns has been a perfect fit in their new five-out offense, is a perfect pick-and-roll partner for Jalen Brunson, and has completely changed New York’s spacing. Quite simply, he has made this offense unstoppable, which is the number one attribute a championship team should have in 2025.
Towns is also definitively having the best season of his career. The big man is averaging 25.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on stunning 55.0/44.9/83.6 splits. These marks rank second, first, fifth, first, first, and fourth respectively in seasons where he played at least 35 games. KAT’s place as one of the best 7-foot shooters ever was undisputed, but his ability to drive, pass, and rebound has been a welcome surprise for Knick fans.
He is arguably the biggest reason New York is 27-16, sitting comfortably third in the East.
Minnesota Didn’t Get Back Nearly Enough
In return, the Wolves brought back two very valuable players in Randle and DiVincenzo. Randle made three All-Star teams and earned two All-NBA selections in NY, and DiVincenzo was coming off a special season. Unfortunately, neither guy has been what Minnesota hoped through 42 games.
While Randle’s counting stats are solid (19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists), his efficiency leaves a lot to be desired (47.9% from the field, 34.2% from three). However, the real issue with the former Knicks player is his poor fit next to Anthony Edwards. Entering this season with Towns still on the team, Minnesota’s spacing was already a huge problem. The Mavericks shut down the Wolves offense in the Western Conference Finals by parking their bigs under the rim, forcing Edwards to kick it out to unwilling shooters like Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Rudy Gobert.
Lack of spacing not only caused the end of their season, it is stunting Edwards’ development as a primary shot creator. Slotting Randle into Towns’ starting spot only exacerbated the complication. Currently, Minnesota’s lineup consists of three terrible shooters in the frontcourt. McDaniels, Randle, and Gobert are shooting 33.9% from deep on 8.4 attempts a game. They’re making it far too easy for opponents to guard Edwards, which is why they are the league’s 16th-best offense. DiVincenzo has helped their spacing in the starting lineup of late, but is still shooting just under 40% from the field and only 36.9% from three.
There have also been loud whispers of locker room dissension due to the struggles of this new group. No one is happy hovering around .500 the entire season.
Pretty much the entirety of Anthony Edwards’s postgame media was him talking about his frustration with the way teams are putting two on him, taking away his opportunities to be a scorer and forcing him to get off the ball.
“It’s not how I want to play, of course. I’m only 23, I… pic.twitter.com/7bJdFS6zeU
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) January 3, 2025
Wolves Traded Towns For Financial Reasons
At the end of the day, the Wolves moved on from their beloved big man because of the salary cap. They didn’t want to be tied to his $55.1 million average cap hit for the next four years, with Gobert still making big bucks. GM Matt Lloyd clearly didn’t like the idea of paying two centers who don’t fit well offensively over $90 million a season. Throw in Edwards’ $48.9 million average salary, and Minnesota would have been hamstrung for years to come.
So, they traded for Randle at $33.1 million for one season (assuming he opts out of his 2025-26 player option). This allows them to reset their books after this year, and landed DiVincenzo’s great contract in the process. It was a smart thought process, but they moved on from the wrong big man. Sticking Edwards with Gobert for the next three years could turn out to be a colossal mistake.
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