When the New York Knicks made a massive trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns, the expectations for both teams changed. The Timberwolves took on Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to sacrifice their second star alongside Anthony Edwards, while the Knicks paired Jalen Brunson with an All-NBA center.
The Knicks have worked out much better than the Timberwolves following the Karl-Anthony Towns trade
The trade has worked out for the Knicks, as they are 29-16 on the season, third in the Eastern Conference, and Towns is having the best individual season of his career. However, the Timberwolves have taken a step back, as they are just 23-21 and eighth in the Western Conference despite being a mostly healthy team.
Instead of taking steps forward after reaching the Western Conference Finals last season, the Wolves moved on from Towns for financial relief, which had set them back to mediocrity. To make matters worse, Randle is set to hit free agency after this season, and DiVincenzo is out indefinitely with a toe injury.
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins weighed in on the effects of the trade for both teams and even went the extra mile to consider it the worst trade in league history for the Timberwolves.
“They’re the most disappointing team and the way that it’s trending right now, they’re on the verge of making the worst trade in NBA history in trading Karl-Anthony Towns,” Perkins said on ESPN’s NBA Countdown.
The Knicks and Timberwolves are heading in opposite directions
Considering it the worst trade in league history may be exaggerated, but it certainly looks like a trade that Knicks fans will relish while Timberwolves fans will be left wondering why they did it. Towns is averaging 25.1 points per game and is the second-leading rebounder with 13.9 per game. Additionally, he is shooting a career-high 43.1% from three-point range.
On the other hand, Randle and DiVincenzo both have regressed from last season’s success. DiVincenzo had a rough season before suffering the toe injury, with 11.0 points per game on 39.7% shooting from the field. Randle, meanwhile, saw his All-NBA numbers drop, as his 18.9 points per game are his fewest since the 2017-18 season with the Lakers.
The Wolves still can figure things out before the season is over and make another deep playoff run, but it is clear that they are a substantially worse team than they were last year, while the Knicks continue to take steps forward in their quest for a title.
New York has made some very good moves in recent years that have been game-changing. Acquiring Towns will be one that will remembered for how much it elevated them as contenders.