Getty Julius Randle of the New York Knicks takes the court before game two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat.
After a rather underwhelming 2023 postseason turnout, Julius Randle has received a significant amount of flack and blame for the ultimate ouster of the New York Knicks. Some such as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith have gone as far as to publicly implore Leon Rose and company to consider trading away the All-Star big man.
While there has been no strong indication of which way the franchise is looking to lean this summer, in the event that they do shop the power forward, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report recently constructed a hypothetical trade scenario with the Minnesota Timberwolves that, in his eyes, could be viewed as a win-win type of exchange for both parties involved.
The proposed exchange reads as follows:
New York Knicks receive: Karl-Anthony Towns
Minnesota Timberwolves receive: Julius Randle and Jericho Sims
Citing Julius Randle’s “disappearing act in the playoffs and Karl-Anthony Towns’ awkward fit with Rudy Gobert,” Buckley suggests that both the Knicks and Timberwolves could be willing to partake in a simple swap of stars, as such an exchange could wind up having a beneficial impact on each club.
“Towns’ shooting stroke would help open things up for this offense, which ranked 19th in three-point percentage (35.4) during the regular season. His passing and post-up play would also give the Knicks more layers. Meanwhile, Randle could be a more natural frontcourt partner with Gobert. Randle is better physically equipped to defend power forwards, and his face-up game could be easier to get into than Towns’ post-ups when Gobert is lurking by the basket,” Buckley wrote.
Since the Knicks were bounced from the second round of the playoffs by the Miami Heat, Karl-Anthony Towns has frequently been found linked as a possible trade target for the franchise to consider this summer.
Being he’s both a bigger star and in many ways a better fit running alongside franchise point guard Jalen Brunson what with his floor spacing and low-post abilities, at the expense of coughing up zero first-round picks Buckley’s proposed swap of Randle for Towns (attached to a five-year, $158 million contract) may be an ideal move for New York’s front office to make.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks May Have ‘Mutual’ Interest
As mentioned within Buckley’s piece, earlier this month it was reported by Heavy Sports NBA insider Sean Deveney that a source noted a push by the Knicks to pursue Karl-Anthony Towns via trade would be a mutual desire.
“The interest in making that happen would be mutual, for sure,” a league source told Deveney. “KAT and the Knicks are intertwined. To some people, it is more a matter of when they go after him, not if.”
Since entering the league back in 2015, Karl-Anthony Towns has proven himself to be one of the elite big men in the game today and easily one of the best shooting bigs of all time.
Throughout his eight-year tenure in Minnesota, the center finds himself boasting impressive averages of 23.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from distance.
Knicks Could Package Mitchell Robinson in ‘Bigger’ Deal
Should the Knicks truly covet a trade for Karl-Anthony Towns, in an attempt to sweeten the proverbial pot, Leon Rose and company may be willing to offer up Mitchell Robinson in such an exchange, as an Eastern Conference general manager told Sean Deveney that New York could be open to including the center in a ‘bigger’ offseason trade package this summer.
“They have felt out the market on him because he is an old-school kind of center—good rim protector and rebounder, but he does not want to shoot past three or four feet and he’s not much of a passer. The Bulls had some interest but it’s doubtful that would come back up. Dallas, too, but again, there just are no pieces that match up. There is not much of a trade market out there for him, so he is their guy. They could move him along if it is part of a bigger package, though,” the executive told Sean Deveney.
Throughout his five years in the association, Mitchell Robinson has established himself as one of the best rim protectors and offensive rebounders in the game today.
Playing in 58 games during the 2022-23 campaign, the 25-year-old finished off with solid averages of 7.4 points, 9.4 rebounds (4.5 on the offensive glass), and 1.8 blocks while shooting a highly efficient 67.1% from the field.