Karl-Anthony Towns could easily be elsewhere. The Minnesota Timberwolves have certainly received trade inquiries, especially after the first year of the Towns-Rudy Gobert experiment resulted in stilted offense and a disappointing first-round loss.
Some of the offers were decent, sources said. Others were of the ambulance-chasing variety; Minnesota is facing a massive financial crunch starting next season, and dealing Towns as he approaches the start of a four-year, $220 million-plus extension was one plausible escape route.
Every trade of the magnitude of Minnesota's 2022 deal for Gobert encompasses wagers on and against every part of the roster. It was foremost a bet on Gobert's defense, and then on Anthony Edwards -- then just approaching his 21st birthday -- developing into an alpha scorer-playmaker before Gobert, now almost 32, exited his prime.
In some ways, it was a bet against Towns -- a vote of no confidence in his defense and rim protection as a center. The conundrum of Towns was that his offense sang loudest at that position. He may well be, as he claims, the greatest shooting big man ever; his ability to drag opposing centers away from the paint unlocked Minnesota's offense. He is polished enough in the post to punish switches. But what did it matter if the Wolves could never cobble a good enough defense?
Acquiring Gobert would shift Towns to power forward. Would his shooting be less valuable there? He'd no longer be yanking opposing rim-protectors outside; those guys would be guarding Gobert. He would no longer be the No. 1 option on offense either; Edwards was coming for that, and the Wolves added Mike Conley to share the ballhandling load.
Towns would now be chased around the arc by faster defenders. He might be able to bully some of those guys on the block, but Gobert would crowd those spaces too. Towns might have issues guarding those quicker forwards.
What was Towns in an Edwards-Gobert universe -- and could the Wolves find some facsimile of that at a cheaper salary? Maybe they already had that player in Naz Reid, now in the first year of a three-year, $42 million extension. Reid hit 41% on 3s this season and won Sixth Man of the Year. The Wolves went 12-6 with Reid in Towns' starting spot as Towns recovered from knee surgery.
Towns' postseason record before the Gobert trade did not inspire confidence. He had scored 11 or fewer points in four of his 12 postseason games -- including Minnesota's much-celebrated play-in win in 2022. In Minnesota's subsequent six-game first-round loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Towns compiled 27 turnovers and 25 fouls -- and just 13 assists. Under pressure, his game oscillated between two poles: overwhelmed passivity and haywire chaos.
In his first two playoff games alongside Gobert last season, Towns combined for 21 points on 8-of-27 shooting -- plus nine more ugly turnovers and seven fouls. He popped in Game 3, scoring 27 points, but the Wolves fell down 3-0 against the Denver Nuggets. The tension evaporated.
But as the pressure eased, Towns grew more composed. He stacked strong performances in Games 4 and 5, combining for 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting and 22 rebounds -- reducing his turnovers to a manageable five in 75 minutes. He fouled out of both games, but it felt like progress.