We are now over a year removed from the trade that sent then-Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, but to Towns, who played a huge role in New York's run to the Eastern Conference Finals last spring, the breakup is still relatively fresh.
"I'm still stunned," Towns said Wednesday, after the Knicks played and defeated the Wolves at Madison Square Garden. "It's weird. You feel more like a Knick now after what we went through last year to get to the heights we went to.
"But it's weird when you see that Timberwolves jersey, especially them fire black ones y'all got. Not being able to see Towns on the back, it's a weird feeling. I love those guys. I love that locker room to death. I'm willing to do anything for them, even if it wasn't about basketball."
Some postgame of Karl-Anthony Towns in which he says he still feels “stunned” about the trade more than a year later. pic.twitter.com/VmDROzMP2v
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) November 6, 2025
Prior to the swap, KAT had spent his entire career with the Wolves, where he was drafted with the No. 1 pick in 2015. As we know from years and years of bombshell trades across leagues, these decisions can be really difficult on players, who put down roots in their respective cities and get extremely used to repping one team alone.
Yes, it's business, but that doesn't take away from the emotional side of things; KAT's vulnerable and honest response on Wednesday is just another example of that.
But he does seem like he has leaned into being a Knick, as he mentioned. It probably helped that New York got the win on Wednesday, 137–114, and that he recorded a double-double (15/10/4) in the game.
But get another chance to face his former franchise and see his former teammates, this time in Minnesota, on Dec. 23.
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