Karl-Anthony Towns to the Golden State Warriors

What a difference a couple of years can make in the NBA. Life has flashed before the eyes of the Golden State Warriors in the past two years, missing the playoffs in both seasons after advancing to the NBA Finals in five straight years, winning three of them. There’s no doubt that the season-ending injuries to Klay Thompson in back-to-back seasons has left the Warriors shorthanded.

Stephen Curry secured the scoring title this season and notched an MVP-worthy season despite Golden State failing to reach the postseason. Outside of Curry, the Warriors have lacked scoring options, allowing teams to center all of their attention on slowing down the three-point marksman. While Draymond Green is still a vital member of the team, he’s not someone that has the tools to be a scorer.

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Golden State was hoping that rookie James Wiseman and Kelly Oubre Jr. — who they acquired in a trade during last offseason — would help them return to contention. Contrary to what they were hoping would happen, Wiseman would be inconsistent before sustaining a season-ending injury, and Oubre fared well in spurts before also suffering a season-ending ailment.

With their window to win with Curry and Thompson rapidly closing, the Warriors should be looking to add a third star to the mix. As much as Golden State would love for Wiseman to develop into a dominant big man, they could just add a big man that’s already one of the best at his position in Karl-Anthony Towns.

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Towns is a gifted scorer at the center position, having the ability to knock down 39.4 percent of his shots beyond the arc in his career. He’s also averaged a double-double in every season of his six-year career. The only thing preventing Towns from getting more recognition is that if you search his playoff stats, you wouldn’t find any due to the ineptitude of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

A starting lineup that features Curry, Thompson, Green, and Towns would put Golden State right back into the mix in the Western Conference. To get a trade finalized, Wiseman and Andrew Wiggins would be at the forefront, along with Damion Lee and Eric Paschall, and multiple first-round picks would be headed to the Timberwolves.