Karl-Anthony Towns is an NBA player who is colloquially known in today’s terms as a “hooper.”
That overarching stamp of approval can apply to superstars, All-Stars, or even difference-makers who do their job to perfection every time they step on the floor. Towns has gone from a player that possessed immense raw talent coming out of Kentucky but needed to refine his game, to a fringe franchise player that struggled to get his Minnesota Timberwolves over the hump in a competitive Western Conference.
Now that he is aging like wine, many want to see Towns take the next step in his career in the Big Apple. While that may benefit him individually, the New York Knicks pulling off a trade for the four-time All-Star at this juncture may not be advantageous to the franchise.
Karl-Anthony Towns may be too expensive for the Knicks to invest in
Sure, on the surface, moving a prospective tandem like Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson for Towns would provide New York with a big man who brings a combination of both of their skill sets to the table. However, his contract could plunge the Knicks into a hole down the line.
The two-time All-NBA third-team honoree is due to make $49.2 million in 2024-25 and roughly $4 million more annually after that until 2027-28 where he will cash out on a massive $61.01 million payday. Towns is deservedly one of the highest-paid players in the league. Taking a step back to Anthony Edwards in the T’Wolves’ offense last season was actually more of a credit to his maturity and poise than an indictment on his diminished statistics, and it translated both in the Wolves’ regular season record and playoff finish.
Knicks president Leon Rose would have to determine if Towns is worth such a gargantuan investment, though. The Dominican-American big man will enter his age-29 season next time out and by the time his deal expires, he’ll be wrapping up his age-32 campaign. Players don’t tend to continue on an upward trajectory beyond 32 years old.
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That being said, the Knicks have a sure foundation as is with an abundance of wing players around Randle and All-Star Jalen Brunson. If they want to go all in, they can move Randle and Robinson, but that would create an even more crowded frontcourt on a Timberwolves team that also has reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid manning the middle. Additionally, both Randle and Robinson’s annual salaries total to roughly $43-$44 million for each of the next two years, which pales in comparison to Towns’ eventual earnings.
Towns will be a player for New York to continue to watch closely, but unless management can make the dollars and cents work more favorably for them in a potential deal, the Knicks may be better off looking elsewhere for another piece to their championship puzzle.
