NBA Rumors: Karl-Anthony Towns was never ‘promised’ he wouldn’t be traded by Wolves | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Even though Karl-Anthony Towns’ reaction on social media when he was traded seemed to be one of surprise, the Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly never guaranteed he wouldn’t get the four-time All-Star at some point.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly “couldn’t make that promise” when Towns previously sought assurances that he would remain with the club while he settles into his new role of supporting Anthony Edwards as the number 1 option.

On Friday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski reported that the Timberwolves agreed to send Towns to the New York Knicks for Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round draft pick via the Detroit Pistons.

Shortly before the transaction was reported, Towns posted a cryptic message on social media with an apostrophe.

It’s not entirely unheard of for a blockbuster trade involving a star player to take place in late September or early October. Damian Lillard does traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal exactly one year ago Friday.

For the most part, though, teams have wrapped up all their relevant offseason business long ago and will at least start the season to see what their roster can do before thinking about splitting it up.

The Timberwolves had the second-best season in franchise history last season (56-26). They also made it to the Western Conference Finals for the second time before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in five games.

While these are reasons to be surprised that Towns was dealt, he has long been rumored as a potential trade candidate, in part due to Minnesota’s luxury tax concerns with an expensive roster and an uncertain ownership situation.

The Knicks were reportedly monitoring Towns’ situation with the T-Wolves as early as October 2023.

Towns spent most of his tenure in Minnesota as the team’s best player after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2015. He took a step back in the overall hierarchy when Edwards was selected as the best player in 2020, but the duo formed a nice group. partnership over time.

The 28-year-old Towns made the All-Star team twice in the past three seasons. He is coming off one of his most efficient offensive seasons with a 62.5 shooting percentage and a 41.6 percent success rate from three-point range in 62 starts.