On 9/27 The NY Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves completed a trade to send Karl Anthony-Towns to the Big Apple in exchange for Donte Divencenzo and Julius Randle along with a lottery-protected First Round Pick. We will take a look at the pros and cons from the Knicks perspective of the deal and how it could effect their team this year.

PROS

New York receives an All-star caliber, high gravity scorer who is still within the relative prime of his career. He provides a balanced attack of inside and outside shooting that will take pressure off Jalen Brunson to get big buckets down the stretch. He is highly portable and can operate on or off ball. He can create open opportunities for the weapons around him and cover the void left by Mitchell Robinson at the Center position, who is recovering from yet another ankle injury. The Knicks move off a guy in Randle who was likely going to opt out after this season for a major pay day that New You wasn’t willing to pay. Towns is currently locked in for the next 3 years with a player option in the 4th season.

CONS

The Knicks lose an All-star Randle, that has been a major part of the Knicks playoffs runs even proper to Brunson arriving on the team. They will also be without a high energy crowd-favorite player in Divencenzo who gelled well with his former college teammates from Villanova. He provided floor-spacing and defensive disruption off the ball. Rumors state that he was unhappy with the diminished role he would be left with after former college teammate Mikal Bridges arrived. Lastly the Knicks will lose the future First Round pick that they acquired from the Detroit Pistons back in 2022. This is a lottery protected draft pick so due to those restrictions the Knicks have been unable to utilize it.

Who won the blockbuster NBA trade:@nyknicks get Karl-Anthony Towns@Timberwolves get Julius Randle | Donte Divencenzo#NBAx

— Rippe🎯 (@MichaelRippe) September 28, 2024

This is the final blockbuster move the Knicks will make in an attempt to compete for a Championship. Towns is a star offensive player that fits the timeline of the main core of the team. The biggest question going into the year is whether or not the versatility of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges can cover up the lack of defensive prowess that Karl Anthony-Towns has. Look for Coach Thibodeau to tinker with lineups involving Precius Achiuwa starting at the 4. A front court of Josh Hart and Towns could be vulnerable against a strong interior attack.