This is New Year’s Day, 2024, OG Anunoby’s first game as a Knick.
He puts up 17 points, six rebounds, and is a +19 in a win over Minnesota — the perfect debut.
About 40 minutes after the game, Tom Thibodeau is walking through the bowels of Madison Square Garden, he sees a familiar face, stops and smiles. It’s Karl Towns Sr. The two men shake hands, hug and share a laugh.
Towns Sr. heads to the Garden exits. Thibodeau makes his way to the home locker room.
They probably won’t see each other for the rest of the season, but Towns Sr. and Thibs will cross paths much more often this year.
Leon Rose and the Knicks executed their third blockbuster trade of the last 10 months on Friday, agreeing in principle to acquire Towns from Minnesota in exchange for a package centered around Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
WHY THE KNICKS WANTED TOWNS
The Knicks have long been linked to Towns. Rose was his agent when he was the head of CAA. Towns Sr. attended Rose’s first game as Knicks president. Rose and New York exec William Wesley are close friends of the Towns family.
They had periodically checked in with Minnesota on Towns, dating back to at least last summer.
But there never seemed to be much traction. As recently as last week, people with the Knicks told associates that they were prepared to start the season with Randle and see how it went.
DiVincenzo was one of the sticking points. Minnesota coveted him. New York was reluctant to move him, but with the start of training camp looming, the Knicks recently came off that stance. This pushed the deal forward and got it across the finish line.
You knew the Knicks were all in on competing for a title when they traded for Mikal Bridges three months ago. The Towns trade was another all-in move for a team that will have a sky-high payroll over the next few seasons.
But New York is obviously bullish on the investment.
In Towns, the Knicks feel like they found a player who complements the rest of their core (Jalen Brunson, Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart) extremely well. Towns is the best perimeter-shooting big man in the NBA. He forces defenses to pull a defender out of the paint, thereby spreading the floor for his teammates.
His presence should open up the lane for Brunson to attack and create advantages for New York. He can also play in the post and draw a double team there. Towns’ presence will make it difficult for teams to trap Brunson and switch on pick-and-rolls.
Sure, there are questions about the Knick interior defense in the wake of the trade.
The bottom line is this: with Mitchell Robinson out, the Knicks had an obvious need at center. By landing a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player in Towns, they feel like they executed a great opportunity to fill the need. And with their core all under the age of 30, the Knicks also feel Towns’ addition gives them a strong opportunity to compete for several years down the line.
Are these feelings correct? We’ll find out over the next three years or so.
WHO ELSE IS IN THE TRADE?
The details of the trade were still being worked out late Friday night, but Charlotte is expected to join the deal to help facilitate.
With the Knicks waiving Marcus Morris Sr. and Chuma Okeke, veteran Landry Shamet is currently well-positioned to make the 15-man roster. Obviously, a fluid situation as the details of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade have yet to be finalized.
With those waivers, the Knicks would now have 21 roster players if they choose to complete the Towns trade by signing and trading DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr. and Duane Washington Jr., Yossi Gozlan says. Teams can’t exceed 21 players at any point.
In this scenario, Washington Jr. would have to be bought out from Partizan Belgrade in order to be moved in a sign and trade.
Additionally, the Knicks will send Minnesota a protected first-round pick (acquired from Detroit) and the Hornets will also receive draft compensation for their help in facilitating the deal.
Trade talks were first reported by The Athletic. The Athletic and ESPN first reported several trade details.
WHY DONTE?
As noted above, the Knicks had long been opposed to including DiVincenzo in the trade. I don’t know exactly why they changed their thinking.
DiVincenzo set the franchise single-season record for made three-pointers last season. He knocked down one of the biggest threes in the last two decades in that thrilling Game 2 win over Philadelphia.
But with the moves made this offseason, DiVincenzo was probably going to be coming off the bench this season. Bridges would likely have taken his spot in the starting lineup.
I can say confidently that DiVincenzo didn’t exactly love the idea of playing fewer minutes/a reduced role this season. He was coming off of a career year and helped the team win a ton of games when it was shorthanded.
I don’t think any competitor would be thrilled with the idea of taking a reduced role in this situation.
This is just a guess, but I don’t think the issue described above played a significant role – if any at all – in the Knicks’ decision to move DiVincenzo. They were against moving him for much of the offseason.
Maybe the deadline of training camp combined with Randle’s looming contract situation and the length of Robinson’s absence made the Knicks more motivated to complete the trade.
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