The Timberwolves' stunning decision to trade away Karl-Anthony Towns prior to the start of this NBA season may prove to be a shrewd move. KAT had a strong first year with the Knicks, but after their loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night, there are already calls for New York to trade him, as well as reports that teammates and coaches grew frustrated with his defensive lapses over the course of this season.
Towns was an All-Star starter in the East and earned third team All-NBA honors after averaging 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per game during the regular season. As Jalen Brunson's co-star, he was a big reason why New York made it to the ECF for the first time in 25 years. However, his offensive numbers dropped slightly in a postseason where he shot 35 percent from three and had 40 turnovers to 24 assists. More notably, his defense was an issue, especially against the Pacers (who also exploited Brunson's weaknesses on that end of the floor).
A Knicks postmortem article from The Athletic includes this note on KAT's defense:
"Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies. Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns’ defensive habits — less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end. Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn’t grasp the importance of the matter."
That's...not something you want from a franchise cornerstone. Towns' contract — he has cap hits of $53 million next year and $57 million in 2026-27, followed by a $61 million player option in the final year of his deal — is the primary reason Tim Connelly traded him away last September. But there may have been basketball reasons, too. For as incredible of an offensive player as KAT is, he can be a liability on defense who regularly ends up in some degree of foul trouble.
Is there a world where the Knicks now try to get out of Towns' contract after just one season? If they don't believe his defensive issues will be fixed, maybe that's something they'll explore. There are already people on social media calling for KAT to be traded, including prominent NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor.
It'll be a fascinating offseason for both the Knicks and the Wolves. They had great seasons and reached their respective conference finals, making the trade that sent Towns to New York and brought Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick to Minnesota a clear "win-win" for both sides. But neither team made it to the ultimate destination of competing for a championship in June. That creates a decision: Do they run it back in 2025-26, or do they make another aggressive move of some sort?
The trade will continue to be judged for years to come, based on how well the Knicks and Wolves are able to build off of this season.