Karl-Anthony Towns‘ first season with the New York Knicks saw the forward put up some of the best numbers of his career. Unfortunately, in light of New York’s performance in the playoffs and Towns’ shortcomings, the trade has been viewed negatively by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes.
While grading the moves from the 2024 offseason in his article, Hughes graded the Towns-Randle swap a C-. He elaborated on this evaluation by saying:
“Last season, the Knicks posted a plus-5.2 net rating with a 119.5 offensive rating overall, and both numbers were markedly better when Towns shared the floor with Brunson…right up until the playoffs.”
“Against dialed-in opponents, the modest in-season synergy between the Knicks’ top two offensive players nearly disappeared while the defense got even worse. Teams spammed pick-and-roll sets those two couldn’t cover, exposing a concerning postseason frailty.”
“Towns and Brunson, together, didn’t add up to more than the sum of their parts. New York was better with one or the other playing solo in the postseason than it was with both sharing the floor.”
Minor flaws were magnified in the postseason, with every action scrutinized under a microscope. The Knicks’ big man showed inconsistent defense and occasional offensive lapses. In many ways, Hughes’s evaluation of Towns’ season could be viewed as accurate.
But there is enough evidence to suggest that some of these claims might be unfair.
In Towns’ first season with the team, New York made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, their first in 25 years. With the star duo paving the way for the team, the Knicks displayed tremendous performances in games, even upsetting the Celtics by making several impressive late-game comebacks.
In the regular season, Towns was nothing short of impressive. With an average of 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds, while shooting 52.6% from the field and 42.0% from three-point range, the 29-year-old established himself as a capable offensive force.
But as positive as his impact was, Towns and the Knicks did have their fair share of shortcomings. These were made extremely clear during the ECF series against the Indiana Pacers, who overwhelmed the Knicks by exploiting their weaknesses and dictating the pace of play.
Regardless, in light of the success in the immediate context, there may be a case for assigning the trade a slightly higher grade.
The outcome of the failures in the postseason has seen the big man face a lot of criticism, even being blamed for the firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau. While this could simply be a case of scapegoating, he is undoubtedly under immense pressure.
This offseason has been an interesting one for the 29-year-old, as he has been involved in multiple trade rumors. Hughes addressed that Towns’ massive contract is one of the hardest to move, making it very unlikely that he gets traded anytime soon.
But this could be a positive sign for the Knicks. With another deep postseason run under his belt, Towns could be poised for a better performance next season. With a new head coach and an upgraded roster, New York will be a team to look out for.
