This weekend, a shocking late off-season trade came through, with Karl Anthony Towns on his way to the New York Knicks. The multi-time all-star, All-NBA player will now round out this Knicks roster that was looking for an upgrade at center. The price was lower than expected, too. The Knicks had to give up Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle to acquire Towns. Even though both players have been great in New York, KAT will bring a new dimension to this Knicks squad that is looking to go the distance this year.
This has been a busy off-season for the Knicks, with almost every available asset moved to improve the roster. Bringing in Mikal Bridges earlier in the off-season means the Knicks are all in on this group. They are designed from the top down to take on the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics. With the addition of Towns, they might be the most talented team in the Eastern Conference. We’ll get to see if it’s all worth it for the Knicks early, too, as Boston hosts the Knicks in the season opener on October 22nd.
On the flip side, this move comes as a shock from Minnesota—trading Towns after nine seasons on the team and selecting him #1 overall in the 2015 draft. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo will undoubtedly keep this team competitive, but the Timberwolves had just found their rhythm. Making it to the Western Conference Finals while having one of the best regular season records in the West. This trade happening so late in the off-season is puzzling. Our best guess is this is a forward-looking move and a full-on commitment to Anthony Edwards.
With the team looking towards the future, the 50+ million dollar price tag to keep Towns around might have been too much. This move opens up the Timberwolves with extra financial flexibility that could be invaluable in keeping this core group together. With Randle’s contract potentially ending after this season and DiVincenzo making far less, the Timberwolves will save millions. As the stricter salary restrictions will be fully implemented this season, teams have been scrambling to avoid getting hamstrung with hyper-expensive rosters. Regardless, it’s a curious move for a team within striking distance of the NBA Finals last season. We’ll have to see how this one works out, but overall, we think the Knicks won this trade.
As expected, this move has increased the Knicks' betting odds. They have the 3rd best odds to win the championship, currently sitting at +800 to win the finals. We expected a bit more boost, but this group is still entirely theoretical. Even still, they are now ranked above teams like Denver and Philadelphia. Their new win total is at 54.5, which is about right. We could see this group getting over that number, so we’d generally lean towards the over. With so many teams looking to tank in the East, there will also be some inflated win totals. Unfortunately for the Knicks, that division will be bristling with talent. It may be hard for them to pull away, especially if they struggle with any injury.
For the Timberwolves, things haven’t been as kind. Their win total has moved down to 52.5, which might be challenging to hit in this Western Conference. Considering that Julius Randle might miss some games after returning from an injury, the 53 mark could be hard to hit. Overall, their odds of winning the finals have dropped slightly to +1000, which, considering they’d have to get past OKC, Dallas, and Denver, seems fitting. Overall, this Minnesota team has decided to take a step back and retool early. We don’t think that’s a bad thing either. Anthony Edwards is the team’s future, so ensuring you’ll be able to pay him and keep him well-supported is crucial. It came as a bittersweet departure for KAT, but it was a move they needed to make. Because of it, we probably would toss a lot on the Timberwolves early this year. We would recommend to wait and see how this new roster first.