Who Won The Latest Knicks-Wolves Trade?

So, I was at my buddy’s bachelor party this past weekend, having a good time
when, at around 10:15 on Friday, I got a notification from Shams saying that the
Minnesota Timberwolves were nearing a trade to send Karl-Anthony Towns to the
Knicks. At first, I was in complete shock, but my initial reaction was that the Knicks
won because they ended up with the best player in the deal.


This trade signals to me that New York is going all-in on its core group of Jalen
Brunson and Mikal Bridges, whom they acquired a couple of months ago from
Brooklyn. O.G. Anunoby signed a five-year deal that made him the highest-paid
player in franchise history at the time, and Josh Hart remains the heart of the
team. This squad was already solid before the trade and was probably projected
to be a top-two team in the Eastern Conference, even without the move.
Adding KAT fills a crucial gap in their lineup, as the Knicks’ only glaring hole was
at the center position to close out games, especially after losing Isaiah
Hartenstein to the OKC Thunder in the offseason. Karl fits seamlessly, and this
Knicks starting lineup could potentially be the best in basketball—if not for that
Celtics starting five that won the championship last June (and oh my, that hurts
to say as a Heat fan).


On the other side of the trade, Minnesota gets Julius Randle, who was averaging
a solid 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists before getting injured in January,
along with Donte DiVincenzo, who just came off a season where he shot 40% from
three. I don’t necessarily love the trade for the Timberwolves, mainly because they
just had a season where they made the conference finals, beating the defending
champs fairly easily before coming up short against Luka Dončić and the Mavs,
only one round away from the Finals.


To me, this trade seems more about fixing their awful cap space situation than
anything else. Unloading KAT’s massive five-year max salary in exchange for a
three-time All-Star with a two-year deal (with a player option for the second year)
and Donte on a great team-friendly contract for the next three seasons doesn’t
sound too bad, I suppose. Plus, they have Naz Reid as insurance, who proved to
be pivotal to the team’s success in closing games down the stretch and
sometimes even got the nod over KAT in certain matchups. Considering their lack
of cap flexibility, with Anthony Edwards signing a max contract last offseason,
Rudy Gobert still having two years left on his huge deal, and Jaden McDaniels
being on an expensive long-term deal, the Wolves had to make something happen
eventually. I suppose this is them getting ahead of it instead of waiting to see
what happens later.


If this group meshes well, I could see this deal being a win for both teams,
considering where each team stands right now.
In the end, though, the Knicks came away with the best player in the deal. After
also landing Mikal Bridges a few months ago, New York is clearly making splash

moves. The pressure is now on the Knicks to deliver, as it’s time for them to return
to the Finals for the first time since the Patrick Ewing era, and maybe, just maybe,
win one for the first time since 1973. My vote for who won this trade has to go to
New York because of the “all-in” factor and the fact that they ended up with the
best player in the deal.

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