{"id":42759,"date":"2021-09-23T13:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T17:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=42759"},"modified":"2021-09-23T11:49:34","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T15:49:34","slug":"karl-anthony-towns-trade-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2021\/09\/23\/karl-anthony-towns-trade-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

A typical week in the NBA is never complete without some drama. The Minnesota Timberwolves just let go of Gersson Rosas, their President of Basketball Operations. This didn’t sit well<\/a> with star player\u00a0Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a><\/strong>. The Timberwolves are in no position to upset their top players, let alone top star in Towns, but may have done just that. Towns is one of the NBA’s premier big men, and perhaps this is the final straw that will drive him to be traded.<\/p>\n

Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Ideas<\/h2>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder End the Tank<\/h3>\n

The trade: The Timberwolves send Towns and\u00a0Taurean Prince<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to the Oklahoma City Thunder for\u00a0Derrick Favors<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Darius Bazley<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Theo Maledon<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Jeremiah Robinson-Earl<\/a><\/strong>, and a future first and second-round pick.<\/p>\n

The intentions for the Thunder are clear. Sam Presti is all in on the rebuild, but not often does the opportunity arise to acquire a star. Towns comes in and forms a great young duo with\u00a0Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a><\/strong>. They’ll instantly form one of the better duos in the league. In addition, the Thunder will also have defensive stopper\u00a0Luguentz Dort<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and rookie\u00a0Josh Giddey<\/a><\/strong>. This wouldn’t thrust them into the playoff hunt immediately, but it allows the Thunder to take the next step and be an offseason away from playoff contention.<\/p>\n

Minnesota likely won’t trade Towns unless he wants to be traded. If that’s the case, the Thunder are one of the best places to look for assets. Favors comes in as a veteran big man to ease the burden of losing Towns. Bazley has a plethora of untapped potential and forms a young, athletic, and exciting duo with Anthony Edwards<\/a><\/strong>. Maledon is another solid young guard to add to the rotation, whereas Robinson-Earl is a rookie who showed flashes of strong potential in the Summer League. Future picks are always a bonus as well.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Changes Course<\/h3>\n

The trade: The Timberwolves send Towns and\u00a0Josh Okogie<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to the Charlotte Hornets for\u00a0Gordon Hayward<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0P.J. Washington<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Kai Jones<\/a><\/strong>, and two future first-round picks.<\/p>\n

Charlotte is full of young talent lead by Rookie of the Year\u00a0LaMelo Ball<\/a><\/strong>. The youngest of the Ball brothers looks special, so the Hornets would be wise to beef up now. Charlotte’s weak spot is also in the frontcourt, so Towns addresses these issues while also becoming the team’s top player. Add in\u00a0Miles Bridges<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Terry Rozier<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0James Bouknight<\/a><\/strong>, and others, and this team is special. Okogie is also a tough defensive-stopper.<\/p>\n

Hayward joins Minnesota to make the salaries work but remains a great veteran and player. He helps the team now, and can perhaps serve as a mentor for the exciting Edwards. Washington is a do-it-all frontcourt player, who eases the loss of Towns. He’s also young and fits the timeline of the Timberwolves’ youth. Jones was one of the better big men in the 2021 NBA Draft, and his athleticism has unlimited potential. He can become an excellent rim-runner and shot-blocker in no time. The first-round picks are a great bonus as well, also considering that the Eastern Conference is quite deep and this trade doesn’t necessarily make Charlotte a surefire playoff team.<\/p>\n

Boston Targets a Championship with Karl-Anthony Towns<\/h3>\n

The trade: The Timberwolves send Towns and\u00a0Jake Layman<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to the Boston Celtics for\u00a0Jaylen Brown<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Aaron Nesmith<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Grant Williams<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Boston will always be a playoff team with Brown and\u00a0Jayson Tatum<\/a><\/strong>. Injuries have affected them in the playoffs before, but perhaps it’s time to break up the Brown and Tatum duo. They’re both great, but also similar players to an extent. The solution here would be to swap Brown with another star in Towns. Boston addressed frontcourt issues by adding\u00a0Al Horford<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and extending\u00a0Robert Williams<\/a><\/strong>, but Horford is aging whereas Towns can play alongside Williams. This team changes their identity but keeps their top star in Tatum.<\/p>\n

If Towns wants to leave, which of course hasn’t happened, acquiring Brown is possibly the best-case scenario. Brown is an extremely intelligent player, a superb athlete, and an excellent two-way player. Minnesota has a solid young core, and Brown comes in to feature as their top player and can form a strong partnership with Edwards. Nesmith and Williams are also young prospects who come in as instant role players.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Embed from Getty Images<\/a>