New York Knicks

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Thursday that he was "surprised" at the amount of executives who believed the Minnesota Timberwolves won their trade with the New York Knicks, who acquired Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick from the Detroit Pistons.

"I was kind of surprised over the last week at how many executives I talked to who felt like the Timberwolves won this trade," Windhorst began on NBA Today in a response to a question from ESPN's Malika Andrews on how Julius Randle now fits with the Timberwolves.

"Which is not something you would expect to hear when most people would agree the best player in the trade went to the Knicks.

"But I think what they are reacting to is that the way the Wolves were able to rebalance their roster in this trade.

"Get Julius Randle, get DiVincenzo who helps them off the bench, give Rob Dillingham, their lottery pick, some time where's he maybe not needed as much out of the gate, and also reduce their long-term payroll for a guy in Karl-Anthony Towns, who had a really big contract."

The Charlotte Hornets were also included to complete the three-team deal, getting three second-round selections (two from New York, one from Minnesota) as well as DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown and Duane Washington Jr. from the Knicks. The draft rights to James Nnaji also went from Charlotte to New York.

Time will tell on who won the trade, but on the surface, it looks like a good deal for both sides.

The Timberwolves got two talented players, one who should slide into power forward and the other who should become a key piece off the bench.

And as Windhorst said, the Timberwolves get a ton of future payroll flexibility with the move, as Towns is on a four-year, $220 million contract extension that runs through 2027-28.

But Towns is a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player who could very well be the missing piece the Knicks need for a championship run. Towns, who turns 29 in November, averaged 21.8 points on 50.4 percent shooting, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists last season.

The 39.8 percent three-point shooter should do a great job spreading the floor and helping the Knicks' offense remain efficient (last year's team was No. 7 in offensive efficiency).

These two teams will notably match up in the preseason on Oct. 13 but face off for real on Dec. 19 (in Minnesota) and Jan. 17 (in New York).

Karl-Anthony Towns was clearly blindsided by the trade that landed him on the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and other moving parts, ending his nine-year run with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"Shocked," he told reporters when asked about his initial reaction to the news. "Shocked. Maybe the word flabbergasted is more correct. Just shocked."

That said, Towns added that his prior relationship with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached him for two-and-a-half years in Minnesota, should help him better adjust in the New York lineup.

"I think it gives us a little bit of a head start," Towns told reporters. "I know the offense he likes to run. I know the way he likes to play defense and what he expects from his players."

Towns will join Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby in what should be a ridiculous starting five, at least on the offensive end. The Knicks will be able to space the floor, with all five players a legit threat to hit shots from beyond the arc, opening up driving lanes for Brunson.

The 28-year-old Towns saw his offensive role diminish in recent years given the rise of superstar Anthony Edwards in Minnesota, though he still averaged 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game last year, shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from three while earning his fourth All-Star Game nod.

He should provide the Knicks with a solid No. 2 option on offense behind Brunson, and the pick-and-pop pairing between the two will be fun.

There are other concerns following the trade, of course. Towns is hardly a dynamic force on the defensive end, an issue for the defensively minded Thibodeau, though perhaps the presence of Hart, Bridges and Anunoby will alleviate some of those concerns.

The Knicks are also pretty thin outside of the starting group, especially while Mitchell Robinson remains shelved with a foot injury. Heading into the season, the second unit looks likely to be some combination of Miles McBride, Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, Precious Achiuwa, rookie Pacôme Dadiet and Jericho Sims.

That...isn't great.

Granted, the Boston Celtics rode a fantastic starting five to a title last season despite limited depth behind it. Whether the Knicks have a starting group that can match the talent of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, however, remains to be seen.

Still, excitement is high in the Big Apple after the offseason additions of Towns and Bridges. The Knicks are clearly going all in, hoping to finally end a championship drought that dates back to the 1972-73 season.

At least one person in the NBA doesn't want to hear about Karl-Anthony Towns' reputation as a soft player.

Speaking to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the anonymous NBA insider explained that describing Towns as "soft" isn't a fair assessment of his playing style.

"Finesse player? Yes. Soft player? No," the NBA source said. "I think it's the whole thing that happened with Jimmy Butler. In today's world, somebody can write a script about you and that s--t never changes."

The person also described Towns as being "like Joel Embiid without the power" and the New York Knicks didn't acquire him to make him a defensive stalwart in the paint.

While there have been accusations that Towns doesn't play physical enough given his size, the "soft" label really stuck after Butler went at him and Andrew Wiggins during an infamous practice when all three were teammates with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018.

Butler, who was seeking a trade at the time, reportedly yelled at Towns and Wiggins for being "soft" and said they "ain't s--t."

Towns has shown at times that the label is unwarranted. He did a very good job defending Nikola Jokić when the T-Wolves played the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals last season.

Now that Towns has been traded to the Knicks, he will be reunited with Tom Thibodeau. Thibs was the coach of the Timberwolves from 2016 to '19. There was a time when they didn't seem to get along due to a difference in philosophy, but Towns said in October 2023 that any past issues had been put behind them long ago.

The Knicks are hoping that Towns can add another dimension to their roster as they try to improve on last season's run to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He averaged 21.8 points on 41.6 percent three-point shooting and 8.3 rebounds per game in 63 starts during the 2023-24 campaign.

Towns and the Knicks will begin the 2024-25 season on Oct. 22 against the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns had some high praise for his old coach who's now his new coach.

"You know what I respected so, so much about [Tom Thibodeau] is that he wanted to win," Towns told Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast. "And he put the hours in and he put the work in. Playing for Thibs was just watching someone who truly loves what they do and puts all their passion and their life mission is being the best coach they can be."

Towns added that his admiration for Thibodeau has grown as he has gotten older and that the Knicks sideline leader is "one hell of a coach."

New York reunited KAT with Thibs in the biggest blockbuster trade of the offseason. Towns' comments to Sharpe point to why the front office felt the partnership can work better than it did in Minneapolis.

Thibodeau's tenure unraveled in dramatic fashion midway though the 2018-19 season thanks to the Jimmy Butler saga. Wider fissures opened up with the players who stuck around, including Towns, after Butler was traded, and that necessitated Thibs' ouster after 40 games.

Towns previously said in October 2023 he and Thibodeau recently talked and they "squashed" any lingering ill will toward one another.

"I still look at Thibs as one of the best X's and O's coaches I've been able to play for," the four-time All-Star told reporters. "He breathes winning and I got nothing but respect for him."

In more ways than one, Towns will have to buy in with the Knicks. Thibodeau has a clearly defined identity as a coach—one that demands a lot of his players. Jalen Brunson both symbolizes that style and is the star around whom New York is building its future.

Even after the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Rudy Gobert and watched Anthony Edwards emerge as an All-NBA talent, they still felt like KAT's team thanks to his seniority and past performance. Now, he'll have to adjust to a slightly lesser role in the Big Apple.

And he better get used to the idea of playing 35 minutes a night.

The New York Knicks are signing veteran forward TJ Warren to an Exhibit 10 deal, per SNY's Ian Begley.

The 31-year-old Warren has played for the Phoenix Suns (two different stints), Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves over a 10-year career. He last played for Minnesota, averaging 3.7 points on 43.9 percent shooting and 2.0 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game (11 contests).

Warren's best season was 2019-20, when he averaged 19.8 points on 53.6 percent shooting for a Pacers team that finished fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. He also scored a career-high 53 points that season against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Unfortunately, Warren only played four games the following season and none in 2021-22 due to a foot injury. He underwent surgery in Dec. 2020 to repair a small left navicular stress fracture.

Warren returned in 2022 and played 42 games for the Nets and Suns, averaging 7.5 points in 16.4 minutes per game.

As for the specifics of Warren's deal, Justin Martinez of the Oklahoman explained what an Exhibit 10 contract is in detail last July: "An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum salary agreement that isn't guaranteed. It can also include an optional bonus of up to $75,000 that will be rewarded if a player, after he's waived, spends at least 60 days with a team's G League affiliate."

Martinez added that Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way contracts, guaranteeing the bonus money. However, that conversion must occur before the regular season begins.

In addition, players on Exhibit 10 deals who make the 15-man roster past the regular season's beginning (in the Knicks' case, Oct. 22) then see their contracts converted to standard minimum deals. A minimum deal for a 10-year veteran like Warren would be $3,303,771, per Spotrac.

Neither Exhibit 10 nor two-way contracts count toward the team's salary cap, per Martinez.

The Knicks, who have already opened training camp, begin their preseason on Sunday at the Charlotte Hornets. Conceivably, that day could mark Warren's debut in a Knick uniform as he hopes to land on a roster for the regular season.

The New York Knicks used some creativity and a loophole in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement to finalize their trade to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Since the Knicks are unable to aggregate minimum contracts in trades, The Athletic's Fred Katz noted they will sign each of DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr. and Duane Washington Jr. to contracts that are $1 above the minimum salary to facilitate the sign-and-trade deal.

Katz did note that the NBA "isn't thrilled" about the Knicks exploiting a loophole.

Per Katz, Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski, the Charlotte Hornets joined the trade to make it a three-team deal with Jeffries, Brown and Washington going from New York to Charlotte.

The Knicks officially announced the trade on Wednesday.

The Knicks were already set to be above the first tax apron for the 2024-25 season prior to adding Towns' $49.2 million salary.

Under the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, teams become hard-capped at the second apron if they use any portion of the mid-level exception to sign a player; aggregate multiple contracts in a trade for salary-matching purposes; send out cash via trade; or send out a player via sign-and-trade and uses that player's outgoing salary to take back a contract.

The Knicks managed to remain below the second apron despite taking in more salary by using some financial maneuvering.

ESPN's Bobby Marks previously broke down the various ways that the apron rules apply and how teams have to operate under the new restrictions:

Even after adding Towns' salary to their books for the 2024-25 season, the Knicks remain $3.6 million under the second apron. Teams in the first apron are prohibited from signing bought-out players who were making more than the mid-level exception ($12.8 million) and can't take back more money than they send out in a trade.

All of this clever maneuvering speaks to how much attention every team has to pay to the apron rules because of how restrictive they are once you get into the second apron.

The Knicks' ability to maintain some flexibility after acquiring Towns and Mikal Bridges this offseason is a huge coup for the organization. They are looking to improve on their run to the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

Following the completion of the trade between the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York in exchange for a package that included Julius Randle, Randle's wife Kendra posted a video on TikTok discussing her reaction to the trade.

"When we heard Minnesota, it was pretty shocking," she said. "Although we were so ready to leave New York, living in a condo with two kids is so hard."

The trade between the Knicks and Timberwolves was first reported last Friday, less than a week before training camp. The deal was reportedly finalized on Tuesday, with the Charlotte Hornets being added to complete the trade.

Kendra went on to clarify that the Randle family was already considering moving out of New York City for a lifestyle change.

"It was a great experience but we were already looking to move outside of the city," she explained. "It was just getting so hard and overwhelming for us because my husband's from Texas and I'm from Kentucky, and that's just not how we grew up."

Kendra praised Minnesota as "beautiful" and added that they're "really excited for a new switchup, a new chapter for our family." However, she admitted that it was difficult to explain to their seven-year-old son that he had to leave his school and friends.

Randle is entering his 11th season in the NBA and had never been traded in his career. He spent the last five seasons with the Knicks and will be playing the 2024-25 campaign on the final year of his contract.

After being limited to 46 games last season due to shoulder surgery, Randle will be looking to bounce back and make a statement in his first year in Minnesota.

Veteran forward Marcus Morris reportedly rejected a training camp contract with the New York Knicks after he was waived for salary cap purposes as part of the trade that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to the Big Apple and sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Morris, facing a roster crunch in New York, instead will hit free agency and look to join another team before the start of the 2024-25 season, per that report.

The Knicks now have options down on the block in Towns, Mitchell Robinson, Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims, while OG Anunoby will operate as the starting 4. Morris might have been able to make the roster, but cracking the rotation as a backup 4 or small-ball center would have been a tougher task.

The 35-year-old appeared in 37 games for the Philadelphia 76ers and 12 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, averaging 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds between the two teams in 16.7 minutes per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three.

He also played in nine games for the Cavs during the postseason, putting up 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

At this point in his career, Morris is more likely to be an option at the back of a rotation than he is to play a prominent role for a team. Still, his defensive versatility and ability to hit shots from the perimeter makes him a solid option in a limited role.

Both Morris and Landry Shamet were signed to Exhibit 9 deals in mid-September, non-guaranteed deals that were essentially a training camp invite. Once Morris was waived as part of the Towns deal, however, he seemingly turned down that same offer given New York's strong collection of frontcourt options.

The New York Knicks agreed to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, but their pursuit of the star center reportedly has been going on for some time.

"This is something that the Knicks were quietly working on for months since the start of the offseason, since draft night," The Athletic's Shams Charania said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. "They offered Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson, that was a hard 'no.' They continued to offer that, 'No, no, no,' and then they finally put Donte DiVincenzo in. That was still a 'no,' but at least there was a window open for them, and then they put in that first-round pick on Friday and they get this massive deal done."

It's rare to see such a monumental trade happen just before the start of training camp, but Charania pointed out that it's a significant game-changer for the Knicks, saying, "In my eyes, they have one of the best starting fives in the NBA."

Towns is joining a talented Knicks lineup led by star point guard Jalen Brunson and wings Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.

A four-time All-Star, Towns is entering the first year of a four-year, $220 million maximum contract extension, which made him expendable for the Timberwolves. The New Jersey native now returns to the East Coast and makes New York one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst explained that Knicks president Leon Rose has had his eye on the 28-year-old for years and jumped at the opportunity to bring him to New York:

"If there was one player Rose coveted more than Brunson, a de facto member of his family when he was hired as Knicks president in 2020, it might've been Towns. Both with deep Jersey roots, Rose had bonded with Towns when he was a teen and, as his agent, had been there with him from his Kentucky days to being picked No. 1 overall to becoming a max contract player. And now, Towns was more available than ever."

Once the trade becomes official, Towns and the Knicks will begin preparing for their season opener against the 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics on Oct. 22.

New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson did not travel with the team for the Tuesday start of training camp in Charleston, South Carolina, per SNY's Ian Begley.

Robinson instead remained in New York to continue rehabilitation of his left foot after undergoing surgery in May, per Begley.

Begley has previously reported that the Knicks are anticipating a December or January return for Mitchell, who missed 50 games last season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle in December 2023.

Knicks training camp is set to take place at court The Citadel Military College of South Carolina, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

The Knicks' preseason opens on Sunday at the Charlotte Hornets as the team gears up for an Oct. 22 regular-season opener at the Boston Celtics.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said during Knicks media day on Monday that there is "no real timeframe" for Robinson's return, per The Athletic's James L. Edwards III.

"We want to make sure he's completely healthy before we move forward... We're going to be patient," Thibodeau said.

Robinson returned for 10 games at the end of the Knicks' 2023-24 regular season, then appeared in six playoff contests before suffering a stress injury on his surgically-repaired ankle, so it makes sense that the Knicks would want to be cautious in his return.

The Knicks have accordingly seemed to prepare for his absence, as well as the offseason loss of Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, by reportedly making a still-pending trade for center Karl-Anthony Towns. Behind him Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims will serve as center options.

Robinson, the longest-tenured player on the Knicks roster, serves as a defensive anchor for the team when healthy. The acquisition of Towns means that the Knicks will be able to ease him back into the lineup off the bench when he is healthy, although his absence from training camp seems to confirm that return will not be in the near future.