As a young and talented big man, nobody can argue against Karl-Anthony Towns’ game. On the court, he’s a versatile superstar who can score in myriads of ways.
This season, he was burdened with big expectations as the leader of a stacked Timberwolves team — and it’s safe to say that he hasn’t lived up to them so far.
Besides some glaring mistakes on the court, Towns recently made some highly questionable comments about his teammate, Anthony Edwards.
“Maybe I could do a better job of teaching him how to take care of his body, diet, and everything. That’ll be on me. I know you all think it’s funny up here when he talks about Popeye’s and all that s***. That doesn’t make me happy to hear. We’re high-level athletes,” Towns told reporters in the post-game conference. We’re high-level athletes, so I got work — I got work to do. But it also falls on me too, you know. It’s all a cliché, everyone wants to take the blame. It’s all of us. We’re a team.”
While the statement itself might not seem too bad, it’s certainly a matter best left private, and many are wondering why Towns was so quick to publicly embarrass his own co-star like that.
Kendrick Perkins Criticizes Karl-Anthony Towns After Controversial Press Conference
On NBA Today this week, Kendrick Perkins flamed Towns for the comments and called on him to be better as a leader.
“It’s unacceptable. As KAT continues to grow in the leadership role, he can’t do those type of things. That’s a conversation that you gotta have behind closed doors. What KAT should have came up and said is that I have to be better. I have to be better int he pick and roll defense, I have to get back in transition, This young guy (Anthony Edwards) is young, confident, and he’s gonna continue to find his way. But KAT has to remember, Kevin Garnett was one of his veteran leaders. He didn’t out him publicly and I now there’s some things that he had to clean up. Hell, he had to work on himself getting in shape and doing diet and nutrition. So I don’t like that interview that KAT did and I think it was weak. I think he needs to re evaluate himself first. It’s a learning process as far as his leadership skills.”
Karl Anthony Towns you must do better!!! That post game interview after last night game addressing Anthony Edwards ain’t it my brother. Carry the hell on… pic.twitter.com/zIwdqkMNuG
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) October 25, 2022
On paper, the Timberwolves have everything they need to be a top contender in the West. With Rudy Gobert in the middle, their defense is finally in a state that can keep them relevant all season long.
But ultimately, it will be up to KAT and his leadership to determine where this team goes and how far they get. He still has a lot to learn — but there is still some faith in what he can become.
