Getty Brook Lopez #11 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves compete for the ball.
The Miami Heat will very likely be in the market for a power forward this summer, and an appealing option may be on the table.
This past season, Miami started the 6-foot-5 Caleb Martin at the position for 49 games before adding 34-year-old veteran Kevin Love on the buyout market. Overall, Love played well in his 17 starts, averaging 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 20.0 minutes per game since joining the Heat (stats via Basketball Reference). Martin also played capably, netting 9.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in just over 29 minutes per game, but there’s little doubt the Heat could stand to add a star or two around standout Jimmy Butler, particularly at power forward.
According to a recent report from Heavy Sports insider Sean Deveney, some NBA executives believe the Heat could be suitors for Minnesota Timberwolves center/power forward Karl-Anthony Towns.
Deveney: Heat Will Likely Be Involved in ‘Superstar Trade Talks’
A three-time All-Star, Towns, 27, was severely limited by a calf injury this year. He averaged 20.8 points in 33.0 minutes a game, the lowest numbers he has posted since his rookie campaign in 2015-16. Still, the 6-foot-11, 248-pound big man would undoubtedly make the Heat better. While Deveney noted the New York Knicks are the favorites to land him if he’s on the trade block, Miami will also be a team to watch.
“Among the teams executives mentioned as potential suitors for Towns: Brooklyn and Miami (two teams that will inevitably come up in any potential superstar trade talks in the next six months,)” Deveney reported, also making note of Towns’ history with Butler.
In 2021, when the Heat played the Timberwoles, Butler called KAT “a loser,” also saying Towns was “soft as baby s***.” Butler’s previous verbal jabs could give Towns pause, but business is business and that likely wouldn’t keep him from heading to South Beach if he wants a fresh start elsewhere.
Is Karl-Anthony Towns 100% After Injury-Plagued Season?
“You can still sell high on Towns even though it was not a great year for him,” an Eastern Conference exec said about KAT, per Deveney. “He’s signed. He’s still young (27). And he’s good. But you need to have a tougher team around him, and you want him in a comfort zone.”
Due to trade restrictions, Towns can’t be traded until July 7. He has one year left on the five-year, $158.2 million contract he signed with the Timberwolves and he’s due just over $36 million next season.
Towns should be 100% heading into next season after suffering a setback this spring from a calf injury suffered in November of 2022.
“I knew since day one it was going to be a long road, a Grade 3; I tore a lot of my calf,” Towns told The Athletic in March. “It was like 95 percent torn off. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road. I was going to have to wait to do its thing, then reassure it’s going to do its thing, then lather it to make sure that it would hold together in the moment.”
Towns also revealed in the interview with The Athletic that he had suffered “a major setback” in his recovery, but he pushed through it. “I was just happy that I’m on the court, and I felt like I didn’t lose a step,” Towns said. “I’m still that great player and still know I’m him. I’m always going to be him.”
Miami was looking to add bigs leading up to the trade deadline, so there’s little doubt that search will continue this summer. We’ll see if the Heat have Towns at the top of that list.