The New York Knicks dropped a bombshell Friday night with a trade for Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns.
The All-Star big man was acquired in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick via the Detroit Pistons, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill has confirmed the deal is taking place.
Fred Katz of The Athletic notes that a third team will need to be brought in to facilitate the transaction, as both the Knicks and Timberwolves are above the first apron and not allowed to take on more money in a trade.
Towns appeared to react to the news on X minutes before it hit the public sphere. He did not appear enthusiastic.
Without an extension, the deal will be a rental for New York. Towns is under contract for one more season with a cap hit of $49.3 million, while Randle is under contract for two more seasons and DiVincenco for three.
The trade is a shocker to more people than Towns, both for the fact the Timberwolves are moving on from a player who has served as a face of the franchise since they took him first overall in the 2015 NBA DRaft and the fact the Knicks somehow aren’t done this offseason.
