Karl-Anthony Towns had an abysmal conference finals shooting just 37.9% FG and 24.2% from behind the arc. The faith that the Minnesota Timberwolves faced in the series against the Dallas Mavericks might amount to moving crucial roster pieces. And KAT’s name is swirling around. Suggesting some necessary changes, Kevin Garnett brought up Karl-Anthony Towns‘ future with the franchise.
Advertisement
On the All The Smoke podcast, the panel stated that breaking up the defensive duo of KAT and Rudy Gobert is the only way to move forward. KG asked, “Do you consider trading Rudy after this year?”
The answers surprised him. Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson were not on board with the idea of trading the Defensive Player of the Year, choosing to trade KAT.
However, that didn’t sit well with KG. When Jackson suggested that if the Wolves trade KAT, they can get another big man to replace him, who would play alongside the four-time DPOY, Garnett replied,
“Nah, I’m trading Rudy before I’m trading KAT…Sh*t, you don’t know what you can get. Sh*t. I may only need a bag of chips; I might not need too much.”
View this post on Instagram
KG religiously defended KAT in this argument because he believes that the 28-year-old is a better fit on a team like the Wolves. His willingness to trade the best defensive player in the league right now to keep KAT speaks volumes about the impact that the 4-time NBA All-Star has had on the NBA veteran. However, the bigger question is whether a trade is required at all.
Is trading Karl-Anthony Towns a good idea for the Wolves?
The breaking up of the Minnesota Twin Towers has been a part of the discourse for a while now. Even after their last season’s defeat, the narrative became popular and a lot of people wanted to see them separated. However, the Wolves management decided to keep the duo going and we saw the results this year.
KAT averaged 19.1 points with nine rebounds, and 2.6 assists in the postseason and played a crucial role alongside Anthony Edwards.
Rudy, on the other hand, had a regular season worthy of the DPOY award. On top of that, the Wolves competed for the conference title against a strong team like the Mavs. So, in reality, they were a huge success, and it could only be made possible due to the current team combination.
The ideal step for the Wolves here would be to continue with the current formula and work harder to keep their players in better shape towards the later end of the season. The experience of playing till the conference finals will surely aid them to balance their energy better and come back stronger next season.
