Getty Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns stands for the national anthem prior to a bout with the Golden State Warriors.
In the wake of their earlier-than-expected exit from the 2023 NBA Playoffs — at the hands of a Los Angeles Lakers team that needed to win a play-in game to ensure its postseason participation — the Golden State Warriors have much to consider regarding their best path forward.
As long as Stephen Curry and his dynastic cohorts remain on the roster, however, the team’s decision-makers are unlikely to consider going down a path that doesn’t bring them closer to reclaiming the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
With that being the case, a move netting them a high-level big man to compete with the Anthony Davises and Nikola Jokices of the world could be a winning one for the club.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley just floated a blockbuster trade that would accomplish just that by bringing Andrew Wiggins’ old running mate, Karl-Anthony Towns, to the Bay Area.
Proposed Trade Swaps Warriors Guard Jordan Poole & Future Pieces for Karl-Anthony Towns
Buckley’s KAT mega-deal comes via a feature on “hypothetical blockbuster trades” to “shake up” the Dubs’ (and the league’s) offseason, and it was constructed out as follows:
- Golden State Warriors receive C Karl-Anthony Towns
- Minnesota Timberwolves receive G Jordan Poole, F Jonathan Kuminga, F Patrick Baldwin Jr. and the No. 19 overall pick (can’t be traded until after the draft)
As the analyst sees it, adding Towns — who averaged 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest in 2022-23 despite contending with a brutal calf injury and Rudy Gobert’s awkward integration — could take the Warriors’ attack to new heights.
Adding him to Golden State’s motion offense might send it into overdrive. He’s a really good shooter (career 39.5 percent from three), but maybe history’s best shooting big man. He can also keep things moving as a passer or toy with smaller defenders in the post. There wouldn’t be a right way for defenses to handle a Towns-Curry pick-and-roll, and those Curry-[Draymond] Green pick-and-rolls would become exponentially more challenging when having to account for the shooting threats of both Towns and [Klay] Thompson.
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s failed all-in push almost certainly has that franchise exploring avenues to remake their roster and Towns is the most logical trade piece where netting a sizable return and building around Anthony Edwards is concerned.
Potential Downsides & Deal Blockades
There are, of course, some obvious potential downsides with adding Towns (despite his gargantuan talent). Before joining forces with Gobert, he was a negative impact player defensively; the Wolves were 4.2 points per 100 possessions worse with Towns on the floor during the 2021-22 campaign.
There are also some durability concerns; the big man has missed a whopping 112 games over the last four years.
Towns’ supermax extension will kick in after next season as well, propelling his annual average salary to well over $50 million during a time where big spenders like the Dubs are going to be more penalized than they have been previously for blowing past the league’s tax apron year after year.
Following a playoff run that saw him average just 10.3 points per contest on 34.1% shooting while displaying poor body language and griping about his role, some in Dub Nation would be all too happy to see Poole go. If the Warriors were to deal him, Kuminga and Baldwin, though, they’d be running the risk of encountering the same issues seemingly every top-heavy super team does during the playoffs in terms of depth.
There’s also the chance that the Wolves balk at this deal from the outset. Kuminga has value as a prospect, but Poole’s contract is abysmal, Baldwin is basically still an unknown and odds are against the No. 19 pick yielding gold.