**The Official Karl-Anthony Towns Thread: Part Two**

[winforlose]

Yet fans here on this board treat him like dog water. It's shameful.

Dog water is harsh. I am the first guy to defend KAT’s value and have been for years. That said, I care more about the team than the player. If the team can improve by trading Karl then it should.

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

Our rotation is currently 8 with temporary expansions to 9 with the 9th being TBJ or JMAC depending on the situation. Trading 1 for 2 is not lateral. The whole point of moves like this is to plug a hole in a rotation or to deal with a cap issue, in this case both. Yes Markkanen and Murray are both downgrades to KAT, but both are half as much money and allow us to bring in the second player in the deal. Embiid and Giannis are upgrades, and they don’t happen with our available resources because they are not lateral and we spent our capital on Gobert. Honestly I don’t see us getting both Markkanen and Murray for Towns, but I would do it in a heartbeat because our rotation gets that much deeper and our team that much better.

[twolves31]

Yet fans here on this board treat him like dog water. It's shameful.

Dog water is harsh. I am the first guy to defend KAT’s value and have been for years. That said, I care more about the team than the player. If the team can improve by trading Karl then it should.

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

[winforlose]

Dog water is harsh. I am the first guy to defend KAT’s value and have been for years. That said, I care more about the team than the player. If the team can improve by trading Karl then it should.

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

That is the whole point of these trade suggestions. No one is saying give us Trae Young or Steph Curry or anyone in between. Hali for Sabonis was a future star for a present star and a huge mistake for the Kings. Hali was and is worth more than Sabonis and there is no chance the Pacers trade Hali for Sabonis today. The trades we are discussing are about winning a title by adding to lesser players for one better player.

[Note30]

Dog water is harsh. I am the first guy to defend KAT’s value and have been for years. That said, I care more about the team than the player. If the team can improve by trading Karl then it should.

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

Shai and Hali trades were made to get a young star for older expiring players.

Our goal at this point is a chip, so that takes that out of the question.

Markannen and Murray are step down from Towns and will get you no closer to a chip and it's at the cost of trading your best player.

That's my **** point. Towns gets no **** respect.

[Note30]

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

That is the whole point of these trade suggestions. No one is saying give us Trae Young or Steph Curry or anyone in between. Hali for Sabonis was a future star for a present star and a huge mistake for the Kings. Hali was and is worth more than Sabonis and there is no chance the Pacers trade Hali for Sabonis today. The trades we are discussing are about winning a title by adding to lesser players for one better player.

You've suggested Markannen and some other mythical player for Towns.

That player could be Taken Horton Tucker or Clarkson for all we **** know. That doesn't make us better in the long term or short term.

And that's my point. We're willing to trade Towns when there's no clear cut way to make the team way better without him.

It's not his fault that we have a **** cap situation and it's not his fault that no good rotation players want to come here but apparently we're willing to trade him to eat that cost and that's my point.

He gets treated like dog water.

[Calinks]

The problem that Towns has in my estimation is that he is definitely the most talented big outside or probably 3-4 players in the NBA but his warts significantly get in the way of that talent. He has done a better job this year of putting a lot of that stuff behind him but the major problems of his awkward drives and constant falling hurt the team a lot.

Those are turnover and easy fast break points for the other team. If he got rid of those issues he would be significantly more valuable. A controlled Towns who isn't turning the ball over or lagging way behind because he's making snow angles on the wrong side of the court while the opponent is on a fast break, is a much better player and the player we need to win a chip.

[twolves31]

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

That is the whole point of these trade suggestions. No one is saying give us Trae Young or Steph Curry or anyone in between. Hali for Sabonis was a future star for a present star and a huge mistake for the Kings. Hali was and is worth more than Sabonis and there is no chance the Pacers trade Hali for Sabonis today. The trades we are discussing are about winning a title by adding to lesser players for one better player.

You've suggested Markannen and some other mythical player for Towns.

That player could be Taken Horton Tucker or Clarkson for all we **** know. That doesn't make us better in the long term or short term.

And that's my point. We're willing to trade Towns when there's no clear cut way to make the team way better without him.

It's not his fault that we have a **** cap situation and it's not his fault that no good rotation players want to come here but apparently we're willing to trade him to eat that cost and that's my point.

He gets treated like dog water.

Towns gets treated less than the mythical expectations you seem to have placed on him, because he is in year 9 and he hasn't fixed his hooking, push offs, charges, falling down, turnovers, kicking out. Towns has all the talent in the world, he hasn't taken that next step and it's hard to see him doing it at this point. It's great that he has improved his defense, he needs to fix the small things he refuses to fix. At the start of the season Houston was team some looked at with young guys like Jabari, Thompson, Eason, and Whitmore. Now the dream of getting Sengun is dead after his great play but Houston's better than expected start, but recent falling down the rankings might be a team willing to trade Jabari who shoots 39 from 3 and plays defense well. It would be more than likely be a 3 team trade where Jabari comes here, Towns goes to Houston, Houston sends other young assets to a third team that sends win now pieces to the Wolves.

[shangrila]

The problem that Towns has in my estimation is that he is definitely the most talented big outside or probably 3-4 players in the NBA but his warts significantly get in the way of that talent. He has done a better job this year of putting a lot of that stuff behind him but the major problems of his awkward drives and constant falling hurt the team a lot.

Those are turnover and easy fast break points for the other team. If he got rid of those issues he would be significantly more valuable. A controlled Towns who isn't turning the ball over or lagging way behind because he's making snow angles on the wrong side of the court while the opponent is on a fast break, is a much better player and the player we need to win a chip.

One of the things that concerns me about Towns is the downward trend of his 3PAs. Ever since the 2019-20 season he's been shooting less 3s per overall shot attempt (to be fair he had a spike last season which was nice, but it's fallen back down to earth now).

For context he's currently 4th "worst" on our team in that regard only above Gobert, Anderson and Miller while being 3rd best in % (technically 5th but I excluded Miller and Nix from this). We're also 25th in overall attempts as a team and currently 19th in ORtg. I just don't understand why the self-proclaimed greatest shooting big of all time seems to have less of a desire to actually shoot the basketball.

It's especially frustrating given our spacing and more importantly our turnover issues (4th worst in TOpg, 3rd worst in TOV%) given how often he drives into traffic or gets called for those hook fouls/charges. I get that people want to run him off the line given his ability but he's 7ft tall, he should be more than capable of shooting over most of the guys they send at him.

[KGdaBom]

Yet fans here on this board treat him like dog water. It's shameful.

Dog water is harsh. I am the first guy to defend KAT’s value and have been for years. That said, I care more about the team than the player. If the team can improve by trading Karl then it should.

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

If it's Murray and Markkanen I'll take it. If it's Murray or Markkanen no thanks.

[Note30]

That is the whole point of these trade suggestions. No one is saying give us Trae Young or Steph Curry or anyone in between. Hali for Sabonis was a future star for a present star and a huge mistake for the Kings. Hali was and is worth more than Sabonis and there is no chance the Pacers trade Hali for Sabonis today. The trades we are discussing are about winning a title by adding to lesser players for one better player.

You've suggested Markannen and some other mythical player for Towns.

That player could be Taken Horton Tucker or Clarkson for all we **** know. That doesn't make us better in the long term or short term.

And that's my point. We're willing to trade Towns when there's no clear cut way to make the team way better without him.

It's not his fault that we have a **** cap situation and it's not his fault that no good rotation players want to come here but apparently we're willing to trade him to eat that cost and that's my point.

He gets treated like dog water.

Towns gets treated less than the mythical expectations you seem to have placed on him, because he is in year 9 and he hasn't fixed his hooking, push offs, charges, falling down, turnovers, kicking out. Towns has all the talent in the world, he hasn't taken that next step and it's hard to see him doing it at this point. It's great that he has improved his defense, he needs to fix the small things he refuses to fix. At the start of the season Houston was team some looked at with young guys like Jabari, Thompson, Eason, and Whitmore. Now the dream of getting Sengun is dead after his great play but Houston's better than expected start, but recent falling down the rankings might be a team willing to trade Jabari who shoots 39 from 3 and plays defense well. It would be more than likely be a 3 team trade where Jabari comes here, Towns goes to Houston, Houston sends other young assets to a third team that sends win now pieces to the Wolves.

Mythical Expectations?!

Jabari, Sengun?!

Dude I'm blocking you. I can't argue with someone who is delulu

[SSUBluesman]

The problem that Towns has in my estimation is that he is definitely the most talented big outside or probably 3-4 players in the NBA but his warts significantly get in the way of that talent. He has done a better job this year of putting a lot of that stuff behind him but the major problems of his awkward drives and constant falling hurt the team a lot.

Those are turnover and easy fast break points for the other team. If he got rid of those issues he would be significantly more valuable. A controlled Towns who isn't turning the ball over or lagging way behind because he's making snow angles on the wrong side of the court while the opponent is on a fast break, is a much better player and the player we need to win a chip.

One of the things that concerns me about Towns is the downward trend of his 3PAs. Ever since the 2019-20 season he's been shooting less 3s per overall shot attempt (to be fair he had a spike last season which was nice, but it's fallen back down to earth now).

For context he's currently 4th "worst" on our team in that regard only above Gobert, Anderson and Miller while being 3rd best in % (technically 5th but I excluded Miller and Nix from this). We're also 25th in overall attempts as a team and currently 19th in ORtg. I just don't understand why the self-proclaimed greatest shooting big of all time seems to have less of a desire to actually shoot the basketball.

It's especially frustrating given our spacing and more importantly our turnover issues (4th worst in TOpg, 3rd worst in TOV%) given how often he drives into traffic or gets called for those hook fouls/charges. I get that people want to run him off the line given his ability but he's 7ft tall, he should be more than capable of shooting over most of the guys they send at him.

These are great points, and to add to them going back to being a high volume/high percentage 3pt shooter would make it easier for him to drive to the basket as the defender would play the shot first instead of the drive.

He needs something for his drives when gets stopped halfway to the rim, the one legged awkard jumper leads to some of the aforementioned snow angels. Adding a step back in the mid-range should be doable considering how successful it was for him a few seasons ago at the 3pt line.

His antics have gotten better, the one thing I've noticed is if they come out it's usually during frustrating times like when he/the team's not getting calls, the team behind and facing a run by the other team, etc. Cleaning up a behavior/reaction like this is often easier said than done, especially when the league tolerates/supports this behavior to a frustrating degree.

[Klomp]

Dog water is harsh. I am the first guy to defend KAT’s value and have been for years. That said, I care more about the team than the player. If the team can improve by trading Karl then it should.

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

I think there are a few candidates for this type of trade. We already lost out on one of the up-and-coming stars in Quickley, but I wouldn't rule out the Knicks staying in the mix. It just would be a different kind of trade, more similar to how we got Gobert. The Magic have a few options, and they are in a similar situation as the Kings were when they decided to make a franchise-stabilizing trade. Houston is in an interesting blend between wanting to win and adding veterans. Detroit has a desperation to them, and needs to make a splash.

These are the types of teams we should be looking at.

[minimus]

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

I think there are a few candidates for this type of trade. We already lost out on one of the up-and-coming stars in Quickley, but I wouldn't rule out the Knicks staying in the mix. It just would be a different kind of trade, more similar to how we got Gobert. The Magic have a few options, and they are in a similar situation as the Kings were when they decided to make a franchise-stabilizing trade. Houston is in an interesting blend between wanting to win and adding veterans. Detroit has a desperation to them, and needs to make a splash.

These are the types of teams we should be looking at.

Jalen Suggs? 13PPG, 46%FG, 39%3PT, only 2.5APG, but he plays a really aggressive, physical defense (1.5SPG) If we get Suggs we can absolutely lock perimeter.

[winforlose]

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

I think there are a few candidates for this type of trade. We already lost out on one of the up-and-coming stars in Quickley, but I wouldn't rule out the Knicks staying in the mix. It just would be a different kind of trade, more similar to how we got Gobert. The Magic have a few options, and they are in a similar situation as the Kings were when they decided to make a franchise-stabilizing trade. Houston is in an interesting blend between wanting to win and adding veterans. Detroit has a desperation to them, and needs to make a splash.

These are the types of teams we should be looking at.

Jalen Suggs? 13PPG, 46%FG, 39%3PT, only 2.5APG, but he plays a really aggressive, physical defense (1.5SPG) If we get Suggs we can absolutely lock perimeter.

Neither the PG13 for SGA or Sabonis for Hali trades happened while the vet was leaving a number 1 seed. Timberwolves trading a KAT for IQ or Suggs is too imbalanced. The trades you see involving star players in our situation are again 2 for 1 with us getting the two and neither one being as good as the outgoing player. One of those players needs to be a floor spacing big who can fill in for Karl, the other needs to be a floor spacing floor general who can play on or off ball.

[Klomp]

I think there are a few candidates for this type of trade. We already lost out on one of the up-and-coming stars in Quickley, but I wouldn't rule out the Knicks staying in the mix. It just would be a different kind of trade, more similar to how we got Gobert. The Magic have a few options, and they are in a similar situation as the Kings were when they decided to make a franchise-stabilizing trade. Houston is in an interesting blend between wanting to win and adding veterans. Detroit has a desperation to them, and needs to make a splash.

These are the types of teams we should be looking at.

Jalen Suggs? 13PPG, 46%FG, 39%3PT, only 2.5APG, but he plays a really aggressive, physical defense (1.5SPG) If we get Suggs we can absolutely lock perimeter.

Neither the PG13 for SGA or Sabonis for Hali trades happened while the vet was leaving a number 1 seed. Timberwolves trading a KAT for IQ or Suggs is too imbalanced. The trades you see involving star players in our situation are again 2 for 1 with us getting the two and neither one being as good as the outgoing player. One of those players needs to be a floor spacing big who can fill in for Karl, the other needs to be a floor spacing floor general who can play on or off ball.

Towns has been great, but he’s still like the third or fourth reason for our success.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[winforlose]

Jalen Suggs? 13PPG, 46%FG, 39%3PT, only 2.5APG, but he plays a really aggressive, physical defense (1.5SPG) If we get Suggs we can absolutely lock perimeter.

Neither the PG13 for SGA or Sabonis for Hali trades happened while the vet was leaving a number 1 seed. Timberwolves trading a KAT for IQ or Suggs is too imbalanced. The trades you see involving star players in our situation are again 2 for 1 with us getting the two and neither one being as good as the outgoing player. One of those players needs to be a floor spacing big who can fill in for Karl, the other needs to be a floor spacing floor general who can play on or off ball.

Towns has been great, but he’s still like the third or fourth reason for our success.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Towns is an All NBA center, and a 3 time all star. Being on a good team doesn’t diminish his value.

[minimus]

I think there are a few candidates for this type of trade. We already lost out on one of the up-and-coming stars in Quickley, but I wouldn't rule out the Knicks staying in the mix. It just would be a different kind of trade, more similar to how we got Gobert. The Magic have a few options, and they are in a similar situation as the Kings were when they decided to make a franchise-stabilizing trade. Houston is in an interesting blend between wanting to win and adding veterans. Detroit has a desperation to them, and needs to make a splash.

These are the types of teams we should be looking at.

Jalen Suggs? 13PPG, 46%FG, 39%3PT, only 2.5APG, but he plays a really aggressive, physical defense (1.5SPG) If we get Suggs we can absolutely lock perimeter.

Neither the PG13 for SGA or Sabonis for Hali trades happened while the vet was leaving a number 1 seed. Timberwolves trading a KAT for IQ or Suggs is too imbalanced. The trades you see involving star players in our situation are again 2 for 1 with us getting the two and neither one being as good as the outgoing player. One of those players needs to be a floor spacing big who can fill in for Karl, the other needs to be a floor spacing floor general who can play on or off ball.

I believe that teams should trade/sign players based on identity they want to build/develop. Latest example is Anunoby to NYK, before that NYK signed Brunson, DDV, Hart. Anunoby is not perfect player in offense, but he is a perfect fit in NYK identity. TOR wanted form Barnes-Quickley combo neither of both players is a definition of traditional forward or guard, Barnes is a comboforward, point forward, Quickley is a comboguard, but together they will form a very interesting duo.

I think that Suggs addition to Gobert-McDaniels-NAW core will do wonders to our defensive identity. This group is switchable, versatile, add here potential of Jaylen Clarke and it will be tough 48 minutes for any opponent. Yes, Suggs is not a superstar such as Towns, but he can be a perfect fit here: hometown kid, plays position of need, still on rookie contract, plays elite defense. So add couple of good role players/expiring contracts, couple of FRPs and you can get a workable but not an ideal solution.

[Domejandro]

So far the proposals I've seen are Murray and Markannen as center pieces. Which both are downgrades, one of whom we've already traded away.

This would be a different story if it were Doncic or Giannis or an actual major difference maker. Even I would be onboard if you were talking about something at that level, but the moves being suggested are almost lateral.

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

Shai and Hali trades were made to get a young star for older expiring players.

Our goal at this point is a chip, so that takes that out of the question.

Markannen and Murray are step down from Towns and will get you no closer to a chip and it's at the cost of trading your best player.

That's my **** point. Towns gets no **** respect.

You've suggested Markannen and some other mythical player for Towns.

That player could be Taken Horton Tucker or Clarkson for all we **** know. That doesn't make us better in the long term or short term.

And that's my point. We're willing to trade Towns when there's no clear cut way to make the team way better without him.

It's not his fault that we have a **** cap situation and it's not his fault that no good rotation players want to come here but apparently we're willing to trade him to eat that cost and that's my point.

He gets treated like dog water.

I've pretty openly been against the majority of the garbage Towns trade proposals in the past.

That said, it is entirely reasonable (on a forum that is dedicated to talking about Minnesota Timberwolves basketball) to discuss the impending cap crunch, and consider ways in which that problem can be mitigated without drastically falling off, talent-wise. Unfortunately, with how Minnesota's cap sheet is structured, the majority of discussion is going to be around Karl-Anthony Towns.

Personally, I think that Minnesota is better off staying the course with this season with their stars unless it is a drastic situation (Kevin Durant pipedream), but acting like Lauri Markkanen is a garbage can alternative is bizarre to me. The dude has tremendous splits of 49.4/38.5/85.4 on a wild 8.4 three point attempts per game (63.5 TS%!!!), he is an elite off-ball scorer (excellent cutter and movement shooter), and he doesn't turn the ball over. Karl-Anthony Towns is a better passer (albeit worse A/TO) and defender, but this idea that Lauri Markkanen is an insulting name to bring up is weird.

[TimberKat]

You are not getting Giannis or Doncic for Towns, you couldn't get Giannis for Towns and any combination of players on our team not including Ant. A lot of trades proposed for Towns are not good, at least both Murray and Markannen have been recent all stars. If you are going to trade Towns you want to get the next Shai like OKC got for George or the next Hali like Indiana got for Sabonis, you are not going to get an already established superstar for Kat.

Shai and Hali trades were made to get a young star for older expiring players.

Our goal at this point is a chip, so that takes that out of the question.

Markannen and Murray are step down from Towns and will get you no closer to a chip and it's at the cost of trading your best player.

That's my **** point. Towns gets no **** respect.

You've suggested Markannen and some other mythical player for Towns.

That player could be Taken Horton Tucker or Clarkson for all we **** know. That doesn't make us better in the long term or short term.

And that's my point. We're willing to trade Towns when there's no clear cut way to make the team way better without him.

It's not his fault that we have a **** cap situation and it's not his fault that no good rotation players want to come here but apparently we're willing to trade him to eat that cost and that's my point.

He gets treated like dog water.

I've pretty openly been against the majority of the garbage Towns trade proposals in the past.

That said, it is entirely reasonable (on a forum that is dedicated to talking about Minnesota Timberwolves basketball) to discuss the impending cap crunch, and consider ways in which that problem can be mitigated without drastically falling off, talent-wise. Unfortunately, with how Minnesota's cap sheet is structured, the majority of discussion is going to be around Karl-Anthony Towns.

Personally, I think that Minnesota is better off staying the course with this season with their stars unless it is a drastic situation (Kevin Durant pipedream), but acting like Lauri Markkanen is a garbage can alternative is bizarre to me. The dude has tremendous splits of 49.4/38.5/85.4 on a wild 8.4 three point attempts per game (63.5 TS%!!!), he is an elite off-ball scorer (excellent cutter and movement shooter), and he doesn't turn the ball over. Karl-Anthony Towns is a better passer (albeit worse A/TO) and defender, but this idea that Lauri Markkanen is an insulting name to bring up is weird.

This is realGM so we could have a dedicated Towns trade proposal thread even cap space not involved.

I like Markkanen when we could had drafted him. I like him in Cleveland. But I think Towns is worth more than Markkanen + picks and not a fan of Clarkson at this point. In addition, we are a "buyer" team, so not going to rock the boat unless we are sure it's going to be better like KD. I would even do a Towns + JMcD trade if that improves the team.

[Klomp]

In addition, we are a "buyer" team, so not going to rock the boat unless we are sure it's going to be better like KD. I would even do a Towns + JMcD trade if that improves the team.

We are buyers in terms of talent, but likely neutral at best in terms of salary