The Minnesota Timberwolves have tried hard to keep Karl-Anthony Towns in the midnight blue jersey in recent years. However, they might not have a lot of time on their hands. A report in The Athletic claimed that NBA teams have started exploring ways to acquire KAT’s services.
The report said that teams were already talking about the player and that there would be many suitors if he became available or if teams were given even the slightest indication that he might be on the market.
The Timberwolves Want KAT to Stay
Karl-Anthony Towns signed an extension in July and will stay with the Timberwolves at least until the 2026-27 season. He also has a $62.1-million option to extend that by another year. Towns will pocket $36 million next season, and after that, the supermax deal he signed in July will start.
However, just because other teams are interested it doesn’t mean that the Timberwolves would be willing to part ways with the player. The report in The Athletic said that everyone within the Minnesota organization believed in Towns.
Moreover, they were hoping to build around the trio of Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Anthony Edwards, as they still thought they could deliver the goods. The report claimed that Coach Chris Finch and Minnesota boss Tim Connelly believed things could still work out as planned and had no intention to trade Towns.
Towns’ Absence Shows His Importance
Before being sidelined with a calf injury in November, Karl-Anthony Towns was averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 8.2 rebounds this season. Both his numbers and game regressed after the Timberwolves brought in Gobert in a blockbuster deal with a twin-tower plan in mind.
Things haven’t gone as they expected with Gobert too. He has been a shadow of his former self, and definitely not the Rudy Gobert that won the Defensive Player of the Year award three times with the Utah Jazz. The 31-32 record is probably the best indicator of how disappointing this season has been for the Timberwolves.
However, the T-Wolves’ disappointing season could be the main reason why they might not trade Towns this summer. His absence is having a huge impact on how Minnesota’s season is panning out, so the Timberwolves have basically seen how the future without the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year would look like. It is evident from their comments too that they would much rather have the player fit and in the rotation.
