BLOCKBUSTER TRADE: Minnesota Timberwolves trade Karl Anthony Towns to New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, & a 1st Round Pick!

Last week the NBA world was buzzing after the news broke about the blockbuster trade involving the Timberwolves and Knicks. The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Karl Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a future 1st round pick. I believe this trade still keeps the Wolves and Knicks as Top 5 teams in the NBA heading into the 2024-25 season. Let's jump into this further.

Shoutout Timberwolves Legend Karl Anthony Towns:

• Karl Anthony Towns ended up playing 9 seasons in Minnesota and he was the last player that was tied to the late Flip Saunders. He battled through some really tough years in Minnesota, saw a lot of talented young teammates come and go, and eventually helped Minnesota advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years.

• KAT's all time Timberwolves franchise ranks are as follows: 573 games played (4th), 19,455 minutes played (2nd), 13,121 points (2nd), 975 3-pointers (1st), 6,216 rebounds (2nd), 1,815 assists (4th), 452 steals (4th), 721 blocks (2nd). The best shooting Center in NBA history & One helleva Wolf.

• My personal rankings for all time Minnesota Timberwolves has KAT 4th all time: Kevin Garnett, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Love, and KAT.

• With all of this being said, KAT did have some negatives to his game. He didn't have the highest IQ in big games. He had a major issue of getting into foul trouble and fouling out when we really needed his shooting ability on the court. Even though he played a lot during the start of his career, he has become injury prone over the second half of his career. I commend him for doing the quick surgery on his torn meniscus last season in order to get back for our epic playoff run last season, but I bet that knee is eventually going to have issues holding up. Finally, when he came onto the Wolves, we were a losing franchise. It's hard not to say he built negative, losing habits from his early years that are going to be impossible to break. Even though he had amazing personal statistics, having a winning mentaility and winning habits are so important at the highest level.

• Trading him now was the right move for the Timberwolves organization. I am very happy with this trade!

• Best of luck to KAT in the Big Apple and the rest of his career! (Sorry that you have to reunite with Coach Thibs, LOL)

Now let's talk about the newly added Timberwolves from this trade, other offseason changes that happened before this trade, and the outlook of the 2024-25 season for our Minnesota Timberwolves!

The Addition of Julius Randle:

• First off, Julius Randle is (at least) just as good of a player as Karl Anthony Towns. I personally think he is better. I see a lot of Timberwolves fans online upset by this trade, and that is completely understandable. But the Timberwolves needed to make a change to get to the next level and look to win the NBA Finals. Randle is also a very different player than KAT.

• Both KAT and Randle have been selected to All NBA Teams twice in their careers. KAT roughly costs $56 million per season, while Randle only costs about $30 million per year. This cost difference will allow the Timberwolves to keep Naz and NAW, rather than both likely leaving in free agency next season. The fact that KAT and Randle are at least equal players, this is a very positive change! In my opinion, KAT is a $56 million player worth $40 million and Randle is a $30 million player worth $40 million.

• Julius Randle is an absolute DOG. He pretty much does everything that KAT can't do, plus some of the things he can do. Julius Randle shot 50% from corner 3-pointers last season, which the Wolves love doing. He takes advantage of smaller players and bullies them. He is more mobile than KAT, can put the ball on the floor and create, and can pass with the best of them. Randle also takes about 2 more free throws per game than KAT. Overall a much more aggressive player.

• Further into dribbling and creation: KAT has an issue when he tries to put the ball on the floor and drive. He gets tunnel vision which so often results in losing the ball, throwing a turnover, or running someone over and getting called for a charge because he has very little body control. Randle excels in this exact scenario. He is one of the best PF at dribbling, driving, and creating. He can take the ball to the hoop with great body control and power, or turns his drives into passes to knock down shooters or aggressive teammates cutting to the hoop. Anthony Edwards and the rest of the Wolves are going to FEED off of Randle's play-style!

• When it comes to being injury prone, I have been seeing a lot of basketball fans online saying Randle is injury prone because he only played 46 games last season due to an injury to his NON DOMINANT shoulder... let's shoot this idea down before we get any further. KAT and Randle have each played 9 seasons. Randle has averaged 71.1 games per season, while KAT has averaged only 63.6 games per season. Even a little further into this, if you take out last season for Randle, he has averaged 74.3 games per season. In KAT's last 5 seasons, he has averaged only 50 games per season. This is another HUGE reason this trade happened.

• In 5 seasons with the Knicks, Julius Randle averaged 22.6 ppg, 9.9 rpg, and 4.7 apg on 45% fg percentage. In the last 5 seasons with the Wolves, KAT averaged 23.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg, and 3.9 apg on 50.7% fg percentage. KAT is slightly more efficient from a scoring standpoint, but everything else Randle adds to the Wolves makes this a positive trade for our squad. People are way overrating KAT while also way underrating Randle.

• Julius Randle absolutley changed the trajectory of the Knicks in his 5 seasons. He turned them from one of the worst teams in the NBA into a true contender, just like Anthony Edwards has done for the Wolves. KAT played a part, but he was not the driving force that Anthony Edwards has become. ANT and Randle are going to go CRAZY together!

• Randle is under contract for 2 more seasons at about $30 million per year.

The Addition of Donte DiVincenzo:

• Donte DiVincenzo (DDV) cannot be overlooked in this trade. This guy is also an absolute DOG and is a winner wherever he plays.

• DDV helped lead Villanova to a National Championship in 2018, scoring a career high 31 points in the Championship. He then played a major role in helping the Milwaukee Bucks win the 2021 NBA Finals, averaging 10.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 3.1 apg on 38% 3-point shooting. Finally, he helped the Knicks finish with 50 wins and the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference. He was a key player off the bench last season, averaging 29.1 mpg, 15.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 1.3 spg on 40.1% from 3. He was also asked to play even more in the playoffs, which ended in the Conference Semifinals (Randle was on the IR). DDV in the playoffs averaged 35.8 mpg, 17.8 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.6 apg, and 1.2 spg on 42.5% from 3. DDV has a winning mentality that rises in the bigger moments!

• I had mentioned earlier that Randle doesn't have the shooting ability that KAT has. DDV is the piece that fills that missing gap in what we lose with KAT's departure. Last season, KAT averaged 2.2/5.3 (41.6%) from 3 in the regular season and 1.9/5.2 (36.1%) from 3 in the playoffs. DDV averaged 3.5/8.7 (40.1%) from 3 in the regular season and 3.5/8.2 (42.5%) from 3 in the playoffs. He shoots and makes 3 pointers at a higher clip and improves when the stage gets bigger. This is a huge upgrade for the Wolves that, I believe, fans aren't fully grasping when the news of the trade initially dropped.

• DDV is under contract for 3 more seasons at about $12 million per year. Extremely team friendly contract.

• Fans are going to learn to love DDV as much as we love Naz Reid! GET EXCITED!

Other Offseason Additions:

• In the 2024 draft, the Timberwolves traded up to draft Kentucky PG Rob Dillingham with the 8th overall pick and then still kept our own 1st round pick and selected Illinois SF Terrance Shannon Jr at 27th, a guy who should have been a lottery pick if it weren't for some off court issues that got resolved. This was an excellent draft for the Wolves that will add some immediate depth to an already loaded roster! Dillingham will split time with Mike Conley and is essentially a PG version of Anthony Edwards. Shannon is a big, explosive SF/wing that plays super hard downhill, can shoot the lights out, and is very solid defensively.

• Minnesota also added veteran Forward Joe Ingles. He will be solid depth, but don't expect him to play a ton as he will be 37 years old this coming season.

2024-25 Minnesota Timberwolves Outlook:

• Starters: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert.

• Bench: Rob Dillingham, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Donte DiVincenzo, Naz Reid, Terrance Shannon Jr, & Joe Ingles.

• More Depth (injury issues): Josh Minott, Luka Garza, Leonard Miller, and Keita Bates-Diop.

• After the trade, and considering the entire offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves made massive improvements. USA Gold Medalist, Anthony Edwards, is going to prove to be at least a Top 10 player in the NBA this season. Julius Randle is the best PF the Timberwolves have had since Kevin Love. Gobert, McDaniels, and Alexander-Walker are going to lead the Timberwolves to being one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, yet again. The Timberwolves will be an even better 3-point shooting team than they were last year. Naz Reid and DDV are going to both be candidates for 6MOTY.

• Anthony Edwards used to play with a Kat, now we've surrounded him with a team full of DOGS!

• The 2024-25 Minnesota Timberwolves have a legitimate chance at being a 60+ win team and will undoubtedly be a Top-3 betting favorite to win the NBA Finals!

• If you have any doubts coming into this season, just you wait! This Timberwolves roster is ABSOLUTLEY LOADED and is going to be must watch TV literally every night! The explosive plays and expectations are going to be off the charts!

LET'S GO, WOLVES!!! BRING HOME AN NBA TITLE!!!