Wow.
I spent at least five minutes in shock and denial when the trade was announced. My friends erupted with anger; I couldn’t fathom what had just happened. Did we really trade KAT for Julius Randle???
This was not what anyone expected, especially just three days before media day for a team that had just reached the Western Conference Finals. KAT had arrived only a couple of days ago to start practicing.
I’ve been pretty critical of KAT over the last few years. Like many, I was frustrated with how he vanished and got into foul trouble too often during the playoffs. I couldn’t stand that, while he spent summers at every fashion event and island imaginable, he didn’t seem to be working on improving his game. I hated that opposing teams could put a smaller defender on him and he didn’t punish them for it. I also found it frustrating how he complained after every foul call.
These were all issues I had with KAT for one reason: he is one of the most talented and skilled big men I’ve ever watched. He has a unique ability to shoot the ball incredibly well and do so many other things. However, he was often plagued by the reasons I mentioned above. After the series with Denver this year and how he carried himself into this offseason, it felt like this upcoming season would be different. KAT’s loyalty to the organization through an absolute rollercoaster of nine seasons (check out a summary of those years in our brief history of the Wolves since KG left here) earned him the opportunity to be on a team that could potentially bring a championship to Minnesota. He was amazing in the community and has been through so much as a person here; the organization deserved to reciprocate that loyalty, or at least inform him differently about the trade.
That said, the trade is done. Personally, I love the trade for the Knicks. KAT is the perfect fit alongside Brunson, Bridges, Hart, and OG. He fills every gap they had after acquiring Mikal Bridges and losing Hartenstein. The Knicks have very little rim protection and rebounding now with Mitchell Robinson hurt, but their perimeter defense and having an amazing guard rebounder in Hart should serve as a stopgap.
“After all that” (in KAT’s voice), KAT will go down as the third-best Timberwolf of all time. The nine years he spent here are truly “what movies are made of!”
Okay, I’ll stop. But there aren’t enough words to express how much we, as a fan base, will miss Karl-Anthony Towns and everything he did for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
So, what did we get back for KAT? Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a heavily protected first-round pick from the Pistons. It sounds like we also got Keita Bates-Diop, which I’ll take.
Before discussing what we received, I think the trade was influenced by what we already had. First, the luxury tax situation was about to become problematic. We were on the verge of exceeding the second apron, and with an ownership dispute already in play, who knows who would be willing to pay the additional money to keep KAT? Secondly, Julius Randle’s contract will come off the books at the same time as Rudy Gobert’s. Couple that with Mike Conley’s expiring contract, and the Wolves will be in a position to potentially attract a significant free agent while Ant is just entering his prime at 26 years old. Thirdly, if you thought Naz Reid had a friendly contract, Donte DiVincenzo’s deal is even longer and friendlier. For a player who is a volume three-point shooter and relentless on defense, having him on a contract of around $11 million for the next three years is incredible.
Naz Reid’s emergence last season was something remarkable. His offensive skills are impressive, allowing him to stretch the floor almost as well as KAT but with arguably better moves going to the basket. I wouldn’t be surprised if, by the end of the year, Naz is the starter simply due to his ability to space the floor with Rudy Gobert. Naz is also due for a payday, and the Wolves essentially had to choose between KAT and Naz long-term. This trade would never have happened if Naz Reid were not on the roster.
The piece I’m most excited about from this trade is Donte DiVincenzo. I was hoping he would drop to the Wolves in the 2018 draft, but he went a few picks earlier to the Bucks, and we ended up with Josh Okogie. What’s underrated about Donte is that he won a championship in college with Villanova and in the NBA with the Bucks. He is an accurate high-volume three-point shooter who shot over 40% from beyond the arc last year on nearly nine attempts per game. His release is incredibly fast, too. If that weren’t enough, he is a relentless defender who is as tough as anyone in the league. Not to mention, he stepped up his game more than anyone in the playoffs. Everyone remembers this:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8RxneYn/
Adding Donte to the roster is also crucial for Mike Conley. The biggest reason the Wolves brought in Monte Morris last year was to give Mike some breaks and provide a decent backup point guard. The Morris experiment didn’t work out. While the Wolves did add Rob Dillingham this summer, Rob is likely best utilized as a scoring spark off the bench. This also alleviates the pressure on Dilly to come in and facilitate an NBA offense right away and to play defense from the get-go. As it pertains to Mike Conley, he can now safely rest during back-to-backs and be healthy for the playoffs. I look forward to seeing situations where Conley can rest, and the backcourt rotates through Ant, Donte, NAW, and Dilly.
DiVincenzo can either slide into the starting lineup or provide a spark off the bench. The Wolves are now likely the deepest team in the NBA, allowing for a variety of interesting lineups. For instance, Donte gives the Wolves one of the best 3-and-D lineups in the league with Donte, Ant, NAW, Jaden, and Naz all on the floor together. He allows Ant to be the primary ball handler while spotting up for open threes if anyone helps on penetration.
Now, about Julius Randle: No, he is not KAT. We go from having KAT, who stretches the floor and is consistently used for the pick-and-pop, to Randle, who can, politely speaking, knock down the three. There are concerns about spacing with Randle and Rudy on the floor together. Additionally, Randle’s attitude may bother fans just as much as KAT’s did.
What Randle does provide is toughness and scoring. He is a more traditional power forward who could balance the lineup differently than KAT did. He embodies “bully ball” and will finally punish teams for switching on picks with our guards. This is something KAT refused to do, and Rudy isn’t capable of because he often just gets fouled. Randle has solid post moves and a nice touch around the basket. While he remains unproven, I feel Randle’s toughness is something Ant will thrive on. I can’t wait to see Randle and Ant hype each other up. If anything, Randle will add value if he can help bring out the best in Ant, Jaden, and Naz from a toughness and competitiveness standpoint.
There isn’t much else to say about Julius Randle at this point. It’s unclear whether he will be a long-term solution or if another deal is in mind. All I know is that I absolutely hated the value we got back for D’Angelo Russell, but then it turned into a fleece of a deal. So, time will tell if Randle is an appropriate replacement for KAT.
Given the surprise factor of this trade, media day on Monday will be very interesting. We will all be curious to see how Anthony Edwards candidly responds to the trade. I know Ant and KAT were good friends, but they certainly didn’t feel like best friends, and their personalities often didn’t mesh. While their press conferences during the playoffs were extremely entertaining, it felt like Ant would call out KAT in front of the media to hold him accountable for his talent. I also can’t imagine this trade happens without Ant’s approval. While no one will likely confirm that, you have to assume Ant okayed this deal.
What a way to start the season. Thank you, KAT, for everything you were and everything you did. Now, let’s win a ring.
The Timber Rebuilder 