A massive trade proposal has a surprise Eastern Conference club landing All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 27-year-old Towns hasn’t publicly requested a trade, and the Timberwolves haven’t outright said that they’re interested in trading their franchise star. But if the club gets an offer that they can’t refuse?
At NBA Analysis Network, James Piercey proposed a blockbuster trade that has the Timberwolves swapping out Towns for another former first-round pick in Chicago Bulls’ star guard Zach LaVine:
“If the Wolves are catering to one player on this roster, it isn’t Towns. It’s Anthony Edwards. That’s not to say that the two can’t co-exist. They can. On the other hand, in tandem with Rudy Gobert, it gets a little complicated.
The Gobert/Towns pairing imposes a slower pace on the Wolves. That doesn’t help Edwards. In other words, Minnesota should probably trade one of their bigs.
They won’t get the value they’d like for Gobert. So, by the process of elimination, they should shop Towns. Bringing in LaVine would give them one of the most athletic offensive pairings in the NBA, and starting Jaden McDaniels alongside Gobert would give them an elite defense. This star-for-star swap might benefit everyone.”
Minnesota drafted LaVine in the first round back in 2014. Three years later, he was sent to the Bulls as part of a blockbuster deal that sent All-Star guard Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves. Needless to say, Chicago emerged as a big-time winner in that trade.
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The Timberwolves made significant progress a year ago by finishing 46-36 and qualifying for the postseason, but they were ousted by the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round. Hoping to take that next step, they surrendered a giant package that included four first-round picks to the Utah Jazz for defensive stalwart Rudy Gobert.
But Gobert and Towns struggled to find chemistry together, and Minnesota wound up finishing just 42-40 on the year. Though they once again qualified for the postseason, the T-Wolves were eliminated by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the opening round.
For his career, Towns has averaged 23 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
