Giving Tom Thibodeau full personnel control beyond his role as coach was bound to bite the Minnesota Timberwolves. Less than three seasons in, it ended badly. Thibodeau is now the coach of the New York Knicks, who are above .500 (18-17) and the fourth seed in the East right now.
The Timberwolves will now move forward with Chris Finch as their new head coach. In the wake of the move to fire Ryan Saunders, speculation on the future of Karl-Anthony Towns has naturally resurfaced. He’s still mostly saying the right things about staying around, albeit with three full years left on a max contract. But there’s a lingering sense of an ending similar to Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. Which is to say a very bitter end, centered around a trade demand from Towns but perhaps not ending there.
Could the Knicks swoop in and trade for Karl-Anthony Towns?
During a recent appearance on SNY on YouTube, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News suggested Thibodeau wouldn’t mind reuniting with Towns.
“I don’t know if Minnesota would ever make Karl-Anthony Towns available. But as bad as things ended for Thibodeau in Minnesota, I’ve heard that he’d be open to Karl-Anthony Towns again because Thibodeau just wants to win and he thinks Karl-Anthony Towns will help him do that. And so I know that Karl-Anthony Towns is somebody that’s actually been reported before that the Knicks are monitoring as well.”
As Bondy suggested, trade rumors tying Towns to the Knicks aren’t really new. He’s a New Jersey native, and the Knicks have a lingering need for a franchise player. Julius Randle seems to have found something under Thibodeau, but he’ll have to show he can sustain it. Towns and Randle would be a nice 1-2 front court duo, as big guys with multi-faceted skill sets.
It’s a long way from Thibodeau being open to a reunion with Towns and it actually happening. The Timberwolves could find the right track (don’t laugh), and have Towns as the centerpiece. Or sometime over the next couple years, Thibodeau could wear out his welcome in New York. But the possibility of Towns to the Knicks has resurfaced.
