In a shocking development, the New York Knicks pulled off the blockbuster deal of the NBA Offseason. A deal that sent shockwaves through the league and especially fans in New York and Minnesota respectively. Make no doubt about it, this is a risky move from Leon Rose. This Knicks trade is a boom or bust move in many ways, trading two-time All-NBA forward Julius Randle, a player who took the Knicks from pretenders to contenders during his time there is one thing. On top of that, trading Donte DiVincenzo coming off a career year, after hitting one of the most famous threes in playoff franchise history against the Sixers, is another.
Despite some maddening lapses of iso ball and over-dribbling from Randle, it’s a bold decision to part ways with one of the franchise’s best players of their modern era. Albeit, it is clear the team was moving toward the direction of building around Jalen Brunson. However, to also move DiVincenzo, one of the best contracts in the league, fresh off his breaking the franchise’s single-season three-point scoring record, feels like the biggest question.
Unquestionably, the Knicks have acquired a star in Karl-Anthony Towns. A four-time All-Star who’s averaged 20 points or more for eight straight seasons. He solves the team’s massive hole at center and there are scheme benefits to the move. Yet it feels extremely risky to pull apart two key cogs to the lineup to acquire him. Towns must hit the ground running and play a big part in a deep playoff run this season, or else this move will be examined under the microscope. Leon Rose has been near-perfect in his roster build to this point, so he does deserve grace.
Karl-Anthony Towns Trade is a Boom or Bust Move for the Knicks
The Pros of Trading for KAT
This new vision is firmly a digression from Randle’s bully-ball skills in the paint. Putting an emphasis on spacing the floor. Jalen Brunson is one of the most effective scorers in the paint in the game, and KAT’s addition improves floor spacing for Brunson to dominate in the paint. This is a copycat league, and the Celtics were likely used as a model with how they used Kristaps Porzingis at the five.
In similar fashion Towns can be deployed in the same areas. KAT thrives in affecting a team’s defensive alignment to outside the three-point line. He’s one of the league’s elite perimeter shooters hitting 42% from three last season. Furthermore, Towns is equally adept as a catch-and-shoot player as he is from the pick-and-pop. Towns also has the size where he can get to the rim when need be. Judging by the Timberwolves’ success, Towns is comfortable being the lead option or a secondary option, as he was behind Anthony Edwards.
The key benefit to the deal is the floor spacing it provides. Randle isn’t a great shooter; he only hit the 40% mark from the perimeter once in his career. Whereas, Towns has achieved that five times. As mentioned, the moves the Knicks are making are based on floor spacing around Brunson. They wanted to give him three-point shooters and guys capable of spacing the floor. By acquiring Mikal Bridges and Towns they’ll be a force from the perimeter.
In prior years, teams didn’t respect the outside shooting of much of the rest of the Knick roster. Brunson was double-teamed which wore him down, same with Randle in 2021. Commonly, teams dropped into zone coverage daring the Knicks to beat teams from outside. These offseason moves have corrected that roster flaw.
Thibodeau Has a Big Coaching Job Ahead
Unfairly or otherwise, Towns has garnered a reputation for being soft for a few years now, especially in recent playoff showings. He’s also prone to reckless fouling and isn’t exactly a solid defender in the paint or at the rim. However, he is an elite defensive rebounder averaging nearly 11 per game for his career. Towns could stand to be more physical and use his size and strength more. He needs to toughen up in the painted area also. I would trust Thibodeau to work with him, as he did in Minnesota, and bring some physicality to his game that is more akin to someone of his size and build. Thibs is terrific at coaching and developing bigs, Towns should be no different. Perhaps Thibs can extract even more from the All-Star.
It’s quite a departure from his preferred scheme of having a prototypical rim-protecting five on the court at all times. By trading DiVincenzo they traded a terrific on-ball defender, sacrificing defense and intensity for a more modern approach based on court spacing and perimeter shooting. Thibs has to prove he has the chops for it. Despite his accolades, he’s a criminally underrated coach in this league and should be able to adapt. It will be interesting to see how all these factors progress this season. Notably, last season’s roster was a perfect roster for his style.
Julius Randle is a Big Loss
Trading Randle, who is coming off arguably his most productive season before he went down with injury is certainly a risk. Last season he averaged 24 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 47.2 from the field which was his highest FG% since 2018. Despite the criticism for underwhelming playoff appearances, he was a magnificent servant for the organization and community as was his family. Randle led the team from its lowest ebb helping transition them into being contenders.
Nevertheless, the Knicks had a hole at center that they left unfilled this late in the offseason. It’s worth asking if they had been able to retain Isaiah Hartenstein, whether they still would have made this trade. Nevertheless, the acquisition of OG Anunoby and Bridges led to Randle being expendable. With him being extension eligible this season, it was unlikely the Knicks would extend him with Bridges extension looming and having already agreed to extensions with Brunson and Anunoby.
DiVincenzo Reportedly Unhappy With Reduced Role
DiVincenzo was revelatory in his role as a starter last season. Achieving a career year across the board. He had the third most made three-pointers in the NBA last year and broke the franchise record for most made threes. Of all of his 283 of his threes, none was more impactful than the game-winning three against the Sixers in Game 2. His final game as a Knick wasn’t too shabby either, going 9/15 from downtown and dropping 39 points in a loss to the Pacers, carrying an undermanned squad. This is a cold business, and Leon Rose wasted no time in the offseason to upgrade at the off-guard spot by trading for Mikal Bridges. This meant limited playing time, especially when factoring in Josh Hart‘s usual heavy workload.
According to Ian Begley of SNY, Donte wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of losing his starting job. Whether this was the deciding factor in entering his name into trade talks is unclear. As well as shooting and defense, his movement off the ball was elite. No doubt honing his off-ball craft playing under Steve Kerr at Golden State. The Knicks are sacrificing some wing depth by including him in the deal. If OG goes down for a sustained period, they may regret the move. It has to be finals or bust for this squad within the next two years.
The Last Word
While not privy to negotiations, the more palatable play felt like holding Donte out of the talks. Demanding Mitchell Robinson is used instead and introducing another team. The Wolves have Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert so Mitch wouldn’t be needed in Minnesota. However, adding a team to the deal could have made it work without giving up Donte.
Considering the massive contract the Knicks are taking on in Towns. $49 million next season, %53 million the year after, and $57 million in the third year. This is a big commitment from Leon Rose. From the T-Wolves’ perspective, with their ownership in flux and hurtling toward the second apron, they were likely motivated to move off Towns’ contract. Perhaps the Knicks could have negotiated down further. Even if the Wolves wanted to be patient, the Knicks could have seen how Randle performed in camp.
From the Knicks’ perspective, Towns can be the final piece to a championship team. Make no bones about it, with this swing, it needs to be a grand slam of a deal considering what they gave up. By quickly changing course from the slow and steady roster-building approach until now, there are huge expectations with this team. Thus a Conference Semi’s appearance will no longer suffice.
Sometimes trades can be simply put down to – who got the best player? In this case, it’s the Knicks. Towns is the best player in the deal. The four-time All-Star and multiple All-NBA selection is returning to his hometown and should fit seamlessly. Ultimately this trade is a boom or bust move for the Knicks considering the price.
