The Minnesota Timberwolves took a big risk by trading away their former franchise center, Karl-Anthony Towns and it wasn’t a decision that came lightly. Speaking on the ‘Roommates Show’, the star big man opened up on the night of the trade and how the team’s president, Tim Connelly, pulled up to his house unannounced to inform him of the news.
Karl-Anthony Towns: “I found out in four minutes. By the time the shock wore off, Shams had already tweeted.”
Jalen Brunson: “Who called you first?”
Karl-Anthony Towns: “I didn’t get called. Tim told me to my face that I was traded. I was in Minnesota, he came to the crib. It’s a tough situation regardless of what would have happened but the fact that it happened that way, I got to give him respect. It was me, three of my closest friends, and my pops, so shout out to him, he came to a house by himself with five dudes there who could’ve started spazzing out and crashed out and said we alright. So I gotta give him respect for that for sure.”
This summer, the NBA’s biggest trade was between the Timberwolves and Knicks, which sent Towns to New York in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick via the Pistons.
Normally, most players find out via text or a phone call from their agent that they’ve just been traded. Some players even find out from NBA insiders, who leak it before they find out for themselves.
In the case of Towns, however, he had a special relationship with the Timberwolves. After getting drafted there in 2015, he was fiercely loyal to the franchise and played his role well as a leading star of the roster. With career averages of 22.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, Towns was hailed by Wolves fans as their greatest player of the modern generation.
But with the arrival of Anthony Edwards, Towns became expendable and they opted to trade him after losing in the Western Finals last season. It was a highly emotional process for everyone involved, and President Tim Connely felt he owed it to Towns to tell him to his face instead of over the phone.
It’s a great sign of respect from the NBA executive and it’s evidence that he values his stars even as they are being sent somewhere else. It also shows just how much the Timberwolves valued the young NBA big man, who was a 4x All-Star while wearing their jersey.
Without Towns, the Timberwolves are going to primarily rely on Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert to make a run in the West but with their new and improved supporting cast, they’ll also have enough depth to keep up with any team in the league.
In New York, Karl-Anthony Towns may never make the same connections he did with the small-market Timberwolves but all he can do now is make the most of his time there and do what he can to achieve success with his new team.
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