Even the Karl-Anthony Towns trade between the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves was rare. NBA Regulations. The league is certainly no stranger to surprise blockbuster trades, but is a surprise blockbuster trade before the start of training camp this weekend thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement involving two championship contenders designed to cut down on such deals? Yes, it’s new.
Both the Knicks and Timberwolves entered Friday with 2024-25 championship ambitions. They both leave on Friday with 2024-25 championship ambitions. Still, they replaced All-Stars and drastically overhauled their roster just days before training camp began. 2017’s Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas swap may be the closest equivalent to this deal historically, but that deal came in August. No one has time to be shocked. The season unofficially starts Monday.
So what are we to make of this matter? What prompted the two potential Finals teams to shake up their rosters so drastically? And how did the two teams fare on the deal? Here are our grades for Friday Shock.
New York Knicks: B+
The Knicks had two major problems to solve within the next year. The short-term issue is the central position. Isaiah Hardenstein left in free agency. Mitchell Robinson was injured. Tom Thibodeau’s teams rely incredibly on size. New York, at one point, had to swing at a center. The long-term issue is Julius Randle’s contract. He’s a three-time All-Star, which makes more sense for raising the floor than raising the ceiling. He needs the ball in his hands to win. His jump shot is inconsistent. So is his defense. He never figured out the pick-and-roll dance with Jalen Brunson, though to be fair, the Knicks didn’t ask him either. He was, in a way, a relic of a team they had never been. He helped create the culture that Brunson inherited. But there was a strong argument against his fit on a Brunson-centric team. His accolades aren’t going to keep the ball in his hands enough to justify the contract he’s getting.
The Knicks solved both of those problems in one fell swoop. Towns can play power forward or center, a rarity among modern bigs and one of the most valuable to a Knicks team heavily invested in Robinson. The Knicks have their short-term answer, and to get it, they solved the long-term rand problem. Downs fit is very, very clean.
He is not only a good shooter. He is, by almost any statistical measure, the greatest shooter to ever play center. That ability to shoot a big man changes everything. The Knicks don’t have to worry about defenders ignoring Josh Hart. Do so at your own risk: it would be completely irresponsible to give him unfettered access to the glass with this gap. The difference between New York and Minnesota is that the Knicks are better suited to use their remaining gifts than the Timberwolves. Towns is a stellar pick-and-roll finisher. Because the Timberwolves lacked effective guards early in his career, he didn’t really show it, and by the time Anthony Edwards became a star, Towns was playing in awkward gaps next to Rudy Gobert. Jalen Brunson is going to love him.
Do cities create defense problems? Yes, but they are viable when you have the right staff. The Knicks have the right personnel. If they decide he needs to play next to a traditional rim-protector, they have Robinson. Truthfully, though, he starts out as New York’s only big man. He’s very adept in space, using his athleticism to clog passing lanes and stifle ball handlers in more aggressive pick-and-roll defenses. Thibodeau tends to demand quite a bit from his rim-protectors, but think of the perimeter defenders on this roster. How many times can anyone go past OG Anunoby, Michael Bridges, Josh Hart and Deuce McBride? Anunoby can also guard centers when matchups dictate. Cities couldn’t be more perfect for his particular skill set.
Losing DiVincenzo hurts. McBride can no longer be a feast or famine. He is now the sixth man, more than the role he earned a season ago. You will hear complaints about his contract. He is definitely overpaid. A four-year super max would worry most teams, and as we’ll explain shortly, that’s why Minnesota had to trade him in the first place. But that’s the flexibility Jalen Brunson’s discount buys you. The Knicks can afford this deal because Brunson and eventually Mikal Bridges will subsidize it. It is a luxury that no other team has.
Money is going to be tight for the Knicks. They’ve lost meaningful depth and now mostly lack tradable first-round capital. Big moves have been made now. Some version of this team is capable of winning it all, or the Knicks aren’t going to do it. But the sheer amount of talent upgrade here based on the picks the Knicks already have to give to Brooklyn makes up for the win. That success comes with risks, but they’re risks the Knicks have to take given the potential reward.
Minnesota Timberwolves: B+
No one wants to admit it, but Minnesota had to trade Karl-Anthony Towns. There is an argument in favor of waiting a year. The Timberwolves are seven wins shy of a championship. Usually it’s a team that plays back. But Minnesota saw what happened this summer when New Orleans tried to trade Brandon Ingram. It’s never been more difficult to trade a player who expects maximum money when he doesn’t consistently produce at maximum levels. Cities aren’t just looking for the maximum amount of money. He is locked inside for another four years. There were plausible scenarios that Minnesota tried to make this type of trade next summer and failed. That is how the new CBA is regulated. It’s now or maybe never. The Timberwolves were selected as a “never” risk.
Minnesota is not New York. Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels are getting market rate. Naz Reid holds a player option in the 2025-26 season and will no doubt reject a promotion. Gobert could leave 2025-26 money on the table, but only if Minnesota offers him long-term security. The Timberwolves are the second Apron team this season. That freezes their 2032 first-round pick. The last thing they want is to see it move to the end of the first round with repeated apron penalties. Minnesota had to save money somewhere.
If he had been a little more reliable, somewhere would not have been the city. But he had fewer playoff games below 20 points (nine) than above (seven). The Timberwolves lost their first three games of the Western Conference Finals by a total of 13 points. Downs was 15-of-54 from the field and 3-of-22 in those games. At Reid’s price point you can expect a contrast from players. Not at most. Gobert is very grounded in moving Minnesota’s defensive identity. Edwards is the face of the franchise and by far the team’s best offensive player. Ultimately, it plays a role in cities or. The cities made a lot of sense, especially since Reed copied a lot of what he brought to the table. Moving him opened more doors.
On the Rand, the Timberwolves are flying a cheaper alternative. The Timberwolves paid $50 million for a $40 million player. Now they pay $30 million to $30 million players at the same position. Even if the fit isn’t a slam dunk, the savings outweigh the drop in talent. Randle, the better creator of the two, will be valuable in Minnesota. Last season the Timberwolves were dying for someone other than Edwards or Mike Conley to make shots. Randle will help in that regard, especially when he brings in Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon. A shooting drop from Downs to Randle—especially on a roster centered around Gobert—is going to hurt. DiVincenzo will help in that regard, but he’s not going to close out games if Randle isn’t there. That’s not a bad idea depending on the competition. Good luck defending the Edwards-Gobert pick-and-roll with DiVincenzo, Conley and McDaniels.
With the player having an option for the 2025-26 season, the stakes of the Randle acquisition are low. At most, he is under contract for two more years. If it doesn’t work out, the Timberwolves could let him walk and regroup down the line. They could make better use of his salary through the trade, and considering all the picks they currently have to give away to San Antonio and Utah, the Pistons would be the big picks they got from the Knicks in this deal.
They are no longer at risk of being put on the unwanted list. If the Randle version works? Big. Re-sign him for less than the cost of keeping Downs and finding other ways to scrimp under the aprons. If it doesn’t, should you pivot? You’ve got a ready-made young core in Edwards, McDaniels, Reid and Dillingham. DiVincenzo matches them because he matches anyone. If the Timberwolves need to get younger at some point, they are free to do so.
If you believe the Timberwolves are favorites to win the championship this season, this is a bad trade. The Timberwolves fall into the “need two or three big breaks to win the championship” bracket, which is currently occupied by eight or nine teams. They had no answer for Luka Doncic in the Western Conference Finals. Doncic isn’t going anywhere. Oklahoma City has improved dramatically since last spring. Beating Denver doesn’t mean they’ve magically solved the Nuggets. They trailed by 20 points in Game 7 of the series. The Western Conference is very deep and may or may not be ready to host the Finals. Minnesota sacrificed some of its 2025 stock to extend its running back and make it a little more versatile. It’s a controversial move, but perhaps the right one.
Cities are not important here. He was the third best player on the team last year. But Edwards has the potential to be the best player in the world and has years of runway ahead of him. If it means sacrificing cities to ensure a long-term contender around Edwards, it’s worth it.
