Minnesota have been dealing with the outcome of having traded out one of their best franchise players for two stars who still aren’t shinning as they were expected. We are talking about Karl-Anthony Towns, who this summer landed in New York in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
However, now it seems as if the Wolves are coming out as the losers in the trade, as their general performances seem to have deteriorated since the past campaign. KAT is enjoying an MVP-caliber season so far, and franchise icon Kevin Garnett has spoken his mind about this.
“We just swept that whole Minnesota thing under the rug,” the former MVP and champion said on his show KG Certified. “You’re supposed to trade Rudy Gobert, keep KAT, and go on. You took a step back. You didn’t wanna pay the man? What are we doing?”
Karl Anthony-Towns in 9 seasons with the Wolves:
22.9 PPG
10.8 RPG
3.2 APG
52/40/84% (!!)— 2016 ROTY
— 4x All-Star
— 2x All-NBA
— Only big man to ever win a three point contest
— 2nd most PTS by a Wolves player ever
— Most 3PM & most PTS in a single game by a Wolves player… pic.twitter.com/AWSbaOvsH9— NBA World (@NBAW0RLD24) September 28, 2024
Garnett believes that Rudy Gobert should’ve been the player they traded out of Minnesota. Now, even team star Anthony Edwards believes the squad’s general chemistry has worsened and recently addressed this to the press. “Our identity right now is, I think it’s we soft as hell as a team, internally.
“Not to the other team, but internally, we soft,” Ant said. “We can’t talk to each other. Just a bunch of little kids. Just like we playing with a bunch of little kids. Everybody, the whole team. We just can’t talk to each other. And we’ve got to figure it out, because we can’t go down this road.”
On the other hand, everyone in New York seems to be celebrating the trade. Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart appeared last week on the Roommates Show and praised their organization for bringing in two valuables stars to their mix.
“I say KAT has, by far, been our MVP. He’s just been great,” said the star point guard. “OG, he has been reliable on both sides of the ball. I say KAT because when we made the trade, everyone has this stigma of KAT. The way he’s been performing, he’s like, ‘I don’t care what y’all say about me, I’mma go out there and hoop.’ He’s been killing.”
Knicks icon Carmelo Anthony believes KAT is doing a good job so far, but is convinced that the versatile big man can contribute even more
As the Knicks are sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 12-8 record this season, Carmelo Anthony has shared his thoughts on this new squad, mostly addressing Karl-Anthony Towns’ contribution, as some of his individual performances have come under scrutiny.
“The Knicks are a seamless team, everything flows with them,” said the retired star, who commends the overall culture of the franchise he represented for six-long years. Nevertheless, he doesn’t necessarily feel the same way about the new center that came from Minnesota, as he still sees room for improvement.
Teammate Anthony Edwards make similar remarks. “KAT’s still got to figure out when to roll, when not to roll. When to pop, when to get in the corner, when not to get in the corner,” he said by pointing out areas where the versatile big man needs to adjust his decision-making. “KAT’s still got to figure out his (expletive).”
So far, Towns has participated in 19 games this campaign, averaging 25.2 points, 13 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over 33.4 minutes per match. Also, the Knicks center has shot an impressive 53.3% from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc.
