The New York Knicks are acquiring star center Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a package of Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round draft pick, according to multiple reports on Friday night.
The trade comes just days after reports surfaced that New York’s starting center, Mitchell Robinson, would miss the start of the 2024-25 regular season and not return until at least December or January.
Towns not only provides the Knicks with a bona fide starter at the 5 but brings a superstar-caliber talent to the position. The 28-year-old New Jersey native averaged 21.8 points with 8.3 rebounds last season, just a shade beneath his career averages of 22.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per night.
With just weeks before the start of the new season, the Knicks now have a “Big 4” of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges — who they acquired from the Brooklyn Nets over the summer — OG Anunoby, and Towns.
The price is understandably steep for a player of Towns’ caliber, and Randle is the All-Star talent that headlines the package heading to Minnesota. The veteran power forward was the first piece that turned around the Knicks franchise from dysfunctional bottom-dwellers to legitimate playoff contenders.
In five seasons with the Knicks, he averaged 22.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Injuries ultimately hindered the end of his career in New York, though. An ankle injury hobbled him during the 2023 playoffs and last season, a dislocated shoulder sidelined him from December through the Knicks’ playoff run that saw them lose to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
DiVincenzo signed a multi-year deal with the Knicks prior to last season to strengthen the “Villanova Knicks” roster that already featured Brunson and Josh Hart. The guard averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game in 2023-24 while shooting 44.3% from 3-point range.