Prior to acquiring superstar center Karl-Anthony Towns, the New York Knicks had a real problem at the center position. It started when Isaiah Hartenstein left for the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency, and became amplified when it was announced that Mitchell Robinson wasn’t going to be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from offseason ankle surgery.
The Knicks’ lack of center depth was the ‘driving force’ to acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns
The Knicks made offers to a number of potentially available targets, but none to the same caliber as Towns, and each offer was made to no avail. Ultimately, they decided to go all-in with their title chances rising this summer and brought in the best big man available, though it came at the cost of two important pieces in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke to reporters in their first training camp practice in Charleston on Thursday, and indicated that their lack of depth at center was what led them to pull off the blockbuster trade:
“We had a need, obviously, at the center position. That was really the driving force behind [the trade],” Thibodeau said (h/t SNY). “We certainly appreciated everything [Randle and DiVincenzo] did for us. It’s a tough decision to make, but it is one that we felt we had to make.”
Thibodeau said that Randle and DiVincenzo brought “a lot” to the Knicks but acknowledged that it costs a hefty price to bring in an All-Star caliber player like Towns in today’s NBA.
“You don’t get a player like [KAT] without giving good players up,” Thibodeau added.
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Towns could be a game-changer for the Knicks
Towns is a massive addition to a Knicks team that was already posing as a title favorite even before the trade. The seven-footer is a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player and holds career averages of 22.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks, all while shooting 52.4% from the floor and 39.8% from three lifetime.
Towns gives the Knicks a center who can space the floor, a luxury that they are not accustomed to having. The talented roster that New York has makes them one of the toughest outs in the entire league, as they have addressed nearly every possible need by filling in those spots with the best possible pieces to surround Jalen Brunson with.
The trade also reunites Towns with one of his first head coaches in the NBA in Thibodeau. The long-time head coach was in Minnesota with Towns from 2016-19, during which the big man had some of the most success in his nine-year career.
The Knicks deserve tons of credit for how they handled an unprecedented situation at a key position. Towns elevates them from being a very good playoff team to arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference, and the sky is now the limit for them this season and beyond.
