Karl-Anthony Towns is headed to New York, Julius Randle is heading to Minnesota along with Donte DiVincenzo and a future draft pick, and the NBA is heating up just days before training camps open. Which team won Friday night’s blockbuster trade? Let’s break it down.
1. Who won the Knicks-Wolves trade?
Then Titus: The Wolves. The Knicks got the best player in the deal (Karl-Anthony Towns), but when evaluating the totality of this trade, Minnesota gets the benefit of creating financial flexibility and adding more depth to its roster. Let’s not forget that Julius Randle is just two years removed from being an All-NBA player and Donte DiVincenzo was one of the most effective 3-point shooters last season.
Keeping Towns was unrealistic given the need to keep Naz Reid and Nikeil Alexander-Walker. Offsetting Randle on an expiring $28 million contract and securing DiVincenzo for the 2026-2027 season filled the gap KAT lost in the short and long term. And if the Pistons were to protect their first-round picks, that could be another huge asset for the Wolves.
Dan Devine: … Everyone? Nobody?
I keep thinking about Sheriff Jim Hopper’s definition of compromise: “It’s somewhere in between. It’s like semi-happy.” I imagine many Knicks and Wolves fans feel this way after a deal that fundamentally changes the identity of two teams with championship aspirations.
The Knicks’ biggest questions this season were how they would fill their hole at center after losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and Mitchell Robinson was still recovering from foot surgery, and how they would reintegrate Julius Randle into the structure of a team. squad that almost made it to the Eastern Conference finals without him. This deal answers the former and renders the latter irrelevant, all while pairing All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson with an elite 28-year-old — one whose (admittedly gargantuan) contract runs through 2027-2028, putting him on par comes with core pieces Brunson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and, presumably, an expanded Mikal Bridges – in an offense that could be one of the NBA’s very best.
The Wolves, on the other hand, had to figure out how to improve an offense that finished 17th last season, and how to shore up a depth chart that seemed a little too reliant on rookies and aging vets, all while staring down . the barrel of gigantic luxury tax bills with the contracts of Towns, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert on the books. This deal imports an All-Star caliber power forward in Randle who can create shots for teammates and an elite 3-point shooter and quality defender in DiVincenzo, and does it for less than what Towns costs this year, while also offering Minnesota more flexibility ( and another tradeable first-round draft pick) to build around Edwards for years to come.
However, should “the next few years” be the primary consideration for a Wolves team that just made it to the Western Conference finals? And going all-in on spacing, shooting and offensive creation could lead the Knicks to move away from the ground-and-pound identity that helped them return to relevance? Big questions – and therefore potentially big causes agitation.
Ben Rohrbach: The teams just exchanged problems. Neither team wanted to pay an existing star struggling with injuries and playoff confidence, so why not see if the grass is greener on the other side?
Randle is a little more versatile – and makes more sense next to Rudy Gobert – but he’s far from the floor-layer that Towns is. Does Randle negatively impact Anthony Edwards’ ability to navigate the court? Additional assets, including Donte DiVincenzo, sweeten the pot.
In need of a center, the Knicks brought in Randle for another All-Star big who better fit their roster, even if Towns isn’t a rim protector. From a pure talent perspective, Towns is the superior player. New York’s offense should be phenomenal. But how does Randle’s departure and the departure of one of the ‘Nova Knicks affect the team chemistry that was once the team’s greatest strength?
I think the Knicks won the deal, but there’s a chance neither team did.
2. Where do the Knicks rank among title contenders?
Rohrbach: This deal brings the Knicks closer to the Celtics in the East. It certainly cements them as the conference’s biggest threat to Boston’s repeat — ahead of Philadelphia. New York’s hole was in the middle That stark in the wake of Isaiah Hartenstein’s departure and Mitchell Robinson’s injury. It increases their talent level. It doesn’t solve their defense. Boston still has a weak point on offense.
Last season there was a fourteen-game gap between the Celtics and Knicks. Theoretically, inserting Towns and Mikal Bridges alongside Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby could close that gap quite a bit. In practice, the addition of Towns in particular changes the chemistry enough that it could be important in a playoff series against the Celtics’ continuity. But they gave themselves a chance.
Titus: BetMGM has the Knicks with the third-lowest odds to win the championship, and that’s fair. The Knicks’ talent is undeniable, but success depends on their ability to stay healthy. Mitchell Robinson is already missing the start of the season and OG Anunoby has failed to play more than 50 games in three of his seven seasons in the league. Coach Thibs’ notoriously heavy workload contributes to regular-season victories, but that style often flares up once the postseason arrives.
Divine: At the same level as before, I think – below the Celtics in the East, right next to the 76ers and Bucks, just ahead of the Pacers/Cavaliers/Magic collective. A Knicks offense built around a Brunson-Towns two-man game with Bridges and Anunoby in the corners could absolutely burn the opposing defense; a Knicks defense built around getting Brunson and Towns focused in the two-man game could prove combustible, especially against the defending champion Celtics.
I also worry about the impact losing DiVincenzo will have on New York’s second unit. This deal feels like a big vote of confidence in Deuce McBride, and while I think he deserves it, the Knicks are feeling a little shallow right now – a potentially glaring concern for a team that is now extremely dependent on Towns and Anunoby, who together having missed a total of 213 games. regular season games over the past four years.
3. Where do the Wolves rank among the title contenders?
Divine: Again: probably about where they were before – below Oklahoma City, in the mix with Dallas, Denver and the resurgent Memphis.
DiVincenzo feels like a perfect fit in what is arguably the best second unit in the league, but while I think Randle gets a bad rap, he is an undeniable downgrade from KAT as a shooter, which will help Minnesota’s half-court offense could only complicate things further, causing Ant’s lanes and Gobert’s rim rollers. The good news is that Chris Finch is one of the league’s best head coaches at figuring things out; the bad news, however, is that there still seems to be a lot to do to get these Wolves to the top of the mountain.
Titus: Fifth. The Timberwolves are behind the Celtics, Thunder, Knicks and Sixers. Randle’s integration period will take time. However, they have a deep enough roster to mix and match lineups, from large to small, to be a 50-win team with a shot at a championship.
Rohrbach: Wolves were already serious title contenders, largely dependent on the emergence of Anthony Edwards. That doesn’t change. DiVincenzo adds depth to an already deep rotation, and if Randle can stay healthy, that should carry them to a ton of regular-season wins. Last season they won 56 games, and 60 seems feasible. They should take another high-ranked player, and as last year’s win against defending champion Denver Nuggets proved, they can beat anyone in a series — as long as Randle’s playoff woes don’t trump Towns’ own history.
