4 Questions About The KAT-Randle Trade

The Timberwolves trade Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks, raising questions about the team's future with Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and long-term strategies. Was it worth it?

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I remember when the Timberwolves won the Karl-Anthony Towns lottery. I was on a treadmill watching the television as an ecstatic Flip Saunders jumped up and down after securing the No.1 overall pick. Quickly, I got dressed and raced down to Target Center.

That summer, I had just finished my second fully-credentialed season covering the team. My first season was the final season of Kevin Love, a very dour environment for a team that won 40 games for the first time in then almost 10 years. Year 2 felt fresh with Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and the youth movement. Now, adding Karl-Anthony Towns ahead of Year 3 only increased my excitement.

On Friday night, The Athletic reported Towns was traded to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a future first from Detroit. The move was not entirely unexpected but just days before training camp feels very sudden.

The last nine years of the Towns era have had their ups and downs, but Towns is likely the second-greatest player in team history (currently) and inarguably a pillar of the community. Here are some notable places Towns holds in team history:

• Second in points, rebounds and blocks

• Fourth in assists

• First in made 3-pointers.

Faults and flaws aside, the Towns era was the second-most successful in franchise history. Towns’ Timberwolves made four playoff playoff appearances in seven seasons, including three consecutive. Towns was also a four-time all-star and two-time All-NBA player in Minnesota. Despite being a lighting rod, unfairly at times, do not forget that he is one of the main reasons this franchise has been relevant over the last decade.

With this said, I’m not sure I like this trade for the Timberwolves. At first, I thought, “Great, they broke his contract up between another All-NBA caliber player in Randle and an elite role player in DiVincenzo.” Then, the more I sat with it, the more I soured on it.

Was Trading Karl-Anthony Towns Worth the Risk If Julius Randle Walks in Free Agency?

Randle blossomed in New York, becoming an All-Star and even an All-NBA player. I don’t think that’s what I imagined when he entered the league 10 years. He missed 36 games last season but there’s no denying that when healthy, he’s a great player. So what’s the problem? He can opt out of his contract after this season and is an unrestricted free agent after 2027, but Randle has already been looking for a new contract.

Then there’s the matter of the Detroit draft pick. The pick is lottery protected this season, top-11 protected in 2026 and top-9 protected in 2027. If the pick does not convey by 2027, it becomes a second-round pick. Detroit did not intend to be as bad as they were last season and while they figure to improve this season, they are unlikely to get out of the lottery. It could convey in 2026 or 2027, but we cannot say for certain.

If Randle walks after this season or the team does not re-sign him, then there is a scenario in play where the Timberwolves traded Towns for one season of Randle, DiVincenzo and a second-round pick. DiVincenzo is awesome but that is not the return you want for a franchise player.

Should the Timberwolves Extend Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert Now or Risk Losing Them in Free Agency?

What’s interesting is what this means for the long-term build of the team. Randle’s contract lines up perfectly with Rudy Gobert’s, who also can be a 2027 unrestricted free agent with a 2027 player option. Both players are extension eligible now, too.

Gobert and Randle are potentially owed $90m and $60m, respectively, for the next two years depending on whether they opt-in. The Timberwolves have a young ascending superstar in Anthony Edwards but this team essentially traded their second-best player for cap relief. What will the team’s appetite be to re-sign Randle and Gobert in three years when they are 32 and 33 years old?

The problem here goes back to the Gobert trade. The Timberwolves still owe the Jazz three picks (‘25, ‘27 and ‘29) to complete the deal and having Gobert depart prematurely would make the deal look worse. Imagine trading four picks for Gobert, having him opt-out in 2026, still owing the Jazz two firsts and then having Randle opt out too. That’s not ideal.

But is it any more ideal to pay either Randle or Gobert a bunch of money into their mid 30s and the ends of their primes? Probably not but this is where the team finds itself. Extending both as soon as they can make more sense because they are likely cheaper and bring more value now than in three years.

How Will Randle Fit With The Timberwolves?

Then there’s the on-court fit. Imagining how Randle fits with Naz Reid, who likely got a promotion on Friday, is difficult. This is a bet on Reid and that Jaden McDaniels can pick up some of the offensive slack as well. But Chris Finch is smart and think he can figure out the lineup combinations, though it’s hard to see the Timberwolves being as good now as they were before the trade.

The Timberwolves did need more depth. Kyle Anderson had a declining role on this team the past few seasons, so I was not too torn up by his departure, but that left Joe Ingles a little high in the rotation. Turning Towns into DiVincenzo and Randle helps that problem. I’m not sure the top end talent, especially long term, is better but think the rotation got stronger.

Did the Timberwolves Mishandle Karl-Anthony Towns' Trade by Not Giving Him a Heads-Up?

Another problem here is the apparent lack of notice to the Towns camp. This is a business and anyone can be traded at anytime and what people are owed is a conversation you can have. However, it’s a bad look to trade Towns like this.

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Let’s be real, the Timberwolves won’t land any more or fewer free agents because Towns — let’s say feels — he was blindsided by this move. But as Jon pointed out, he was a long time piece of this organization and one of four Timberwolves to play 500+ games for this team (KG, Sam Mitchell and Doug West are the others). You would think that he could have been given a courtesy call from someone.

This is messy, which has been often the case for this organization. Towns has likely been the odd man out from an asset standpoint since the Gobert deal and the implementation of the new CBA, but it would not have hurt to give him or his agent a heads up. It’s plain to see why Garnett’s jersey is not yet in the rafters. The way this organization operates sometimes can really strain its relationships with its current and former players.