The New York Knicks made arguably the two biggest trades of this summer, first acquiring Mikal Bridges in June and then trading for Karl-Anthony Towns before the start of training camp on Saturday. Towns grew up in New Jersey and revealed in an interview a few years ago that he grew up a rabid Knicks fan due to the environment he grew up in.
“I was always a Knicks fan, obviously being a Jersey boy too, I’ve just grown up in the Knicks hysteria. Just the vibe, the culture, and the energy. It was one of those things where playing at Madison Square Garden was the greatest honor in the world where I’m from. I was a Knicks fan and ended up in Minnesota.”
“The Knicks were the only team to give my dad a chance coming out of college. He made the training camp squad and then broke his ankle after one of the practices, and obviously his career never happened and he became a coach. But knowing that the Knicks saw my dad’s talent as being worthy of their gym, was a huge honor to me.”
“I just want to finish the steps he had. He made it to training camp, put all that work in, went to college, and busted people up getting blocks and rebounds. All of a sudden, he makes the league and his career is gone like that. I thought, ‘Maybe I could keep the legacy going and finish what he started.”
KAT says that he’s ALWAYS been a Knicks fan 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Mm8knyEm3r
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) September 29, 2024
Towns spent nine years with the Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded, with the center never requesting a trade despite the team’s overall struggles until they drafted Anthony Edwards in 2020. Edwards became the team’s clear No. 1 option last season, making Towns’ offensive talents surplus to requirements, dealing him for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
KAT averaged 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists last season, helping the Timberwolves to their second Conference Finals appearance in franchise history.
There was a big man redundancy with KAT on the Wolves, with Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid also being on the team. Gobert’s defensive value meant that Towns would become expendable, as Reid is also an offensive threat, albeit to a much smaller extent than Towns.
Karl-Anthony Towns Is Crucial To The Knicks
The Knicks will embrace Towns due to his ties to the city and clear excitement to play for them. While he was left stunned by the Wolves’ decision to trade him, landing with the Knicks was arguably his best-case scenario. He gets to continue trying to contend while playing for his hometown team.
Towns was three years old when he saw the Knicks make the 1999 NBA Finals, an achievement he probably doesn’t even remember due to his age. He can play an instrumental role in bringing the franchise back to the Finals as Jalen Brunson’s second option.
His fit on the Knicks is pretty phenomenal, with the team having loads of defensive cover on the perimeter alongside the weak rim protection for Towns. Offensively, the Knicks have majorly improved their spacing, which will further unleash Jalen Brunson’s offensive skill set to a greater extent.
This might just be the team to beat the Boston Celtics, but we have to wait for the season to start before saying that.
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