Getty Julius Randle and Karl-Anthony Towns swap places after blockbuster trade.
Outspoken New York Knicks forward Josh Hart tweeted that he had been referring to a soccer match in a previous head-turning tweet that appeared to question the blockbuster trade his team made on September 27, sending superstar Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle and Villanova teammate Donte DiVincenzo getting shipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Uhh… are we serious? Hart tweeted on the morning of September 28.
After fans on X thought Hart was referring to the trade, the Knicks wing was quick to clarify.
“THIS IS ABOUT THE CHELSEA MATCH!” Hart tweeted 13 minutes after his first post.
Uhh…are we serious?
Chelsea FC was playing Brighton & Hove Alvion FC in England’s Premier League at the time of Hart’s tweet. Chelsea won 4-2.
Hart’s lack of reaction to the trade was the exact opposite of his reaction when DiVincenzo signed with the Knicks in July 2023 and when the team traded for Mikal Bridges trade in July 2024.
After DiVincenzo’s signing, Hart tweeted fan-made photo of him, Jalen Brunson and DiVincenzo in a Knicks uniform.
After the Bridges trade, Hart tweeted a screen shot of him on video call with Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo.
All four of them played at one point for Villanova during their two national championship runs in 2016 and 2018.
The Timberwolves had targeted DiVincenzo a year ago, before he signed with the Knicks.
SNY’s Ian Begley reported the Knicks had been reluctant to deal DiVincenzo but recently “came off that stance.”
“This pushed the deal forward and got it across the finish line. … I don’t know exactly why they changed their thinking,” Begley wrote.
Karl-Anthony Towns Solves Knicks Woes
Towns solves the Knicks’ most glaring need — center — following Isaiah Hartenstein‘s departure in free agency and with Mitchell Robinson out until December or January to recover from ankle surgery.
A four-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA player, Towns is the floor-spacing big man who, on paper, is a seamless fit with the Knicks core of Brunson, Bridges, OG Anunoby and Hart.
Towns will thrive as Brunson’s pick-and-roll partner, and as a 39.8% 3-point shooter, the 7-foot Towns is the best shooting big man in the association.
With Towns at center, the Knicks now can match the Boston Celtics‘ famous five-out action that spreads the floor.
The Knicks are all-in and have their championship window in the next three years before Brunson will be eligible for the veteran supermax.
Karl-Anthony Towns Comes Home
A self-described Knicks fan who was born and raised in Edison, New Jersey, about an hour away from Madison Square Garden, Towns comes home.
He’d been on the Knicks’ radar since his former agent, Leon Rose, became the team president. The speculations grew louder when former Timberwoves president Gersson Rosas joined the Knicks as one of Rose’s top deputies.
Jon Krawczynski, who broke the news of the blockbuster trade with Shams Charania for The Athletic, pointed to Rosas as a big factor to this trade finally happening.
Towns is also reunited with Tom Thibodeau, his coach for three seasons in Minnesota who guided him to his first All-Star season and first playoff berth. But he’s also had differences with him, which in part factored into Thibodeau’s hasty exit in 2019.
But they have already squashed their beef in 2022, paving the way for this reunion.
The trade has yet to be finalized with the Charlotte Hornets coming in as a third team, according to multiple reports.
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Knicks’ Outspoken Forward Clarifies Cryptic Post After Karl-Anthony Towns Trade