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

[Note30]

Not that it means anything positive or negative, but I continue to wonder if the most accurate career arc comparison for KAT might be his Dominican brethren Al Horford.

I know I'll get a lot of flack for it, but his mindset is the only thing preventing him from being good. His issues are 60% mental 20% technique 20% physical (body).

IMO his draft comparison to Rasheed Wallace is what I hoped he'd always live up to. If it wasn't for the time of the league Wallace would have been shooting 3's in today's league.

Needless to say I hope he gets someone to get in his head this summer and fix his mindset. He suddenly shot better the last two games? Why? Nothing was drastically different.

I really hope he doesn't get traded for two reasons, 1) Sick of seeing long term Wolves just get traded away 2) we won't get the value for him that we deserve or need.

[LondonWolf91]

Trade Gobert before we trade KAT imo.

If we trade KAT, try and get him for Dejounte Murray and Hawks 1st pick (if they would do that). Select Sarr.

Trade Gobert for SAS 4th or 8th pick and some salary back and draft Topic/Dillingham or any available PG/wing scorer. Retool complete, more balanced roster but don't expect to be top seed.

Roster:

Conley/Murray
Ant/Murray
McDaniels/Risaccher?
Naz/KA/Miller
Sarr/Miller/Garza

[minimus]

trade Gobert before we trade KAT imo.

IMO the way top teams in West Conference are constructed we need at least one from Gobert/Towns duo to be able to defend. Otherwise DEN, DAL, LAL will kill us on the glass. Sarr lacks 20-30 lbs to be able to fight against NBA bigs.

[LondonWolf91]

trade Gobert before we trade KAT imo.

IMO the way top teams in West Conference are constructed we need at least one from Gobert/Towns duo to be able to defend. Otherwise DEN, DAL, LAL will kill us on the glass. Sarr lacks 20-30 lbs to be able to fight against NBA bigs.

Then we need a backup PG who can shoot, another wing shooter and another big who can shoot. We cannot have KA and Gobert on at the same time. Especially not those 2 and McDaniels. It limits us offensively way too much even if they are high IQ guys.

[minimus]

trade Gobert before we trade KAT imo.

IMO the way top teams in West Conference are constructed we need at least one from Gobert/Towns duo to be able to defend. Otherwise DEN, DAL, LAL will kill us on the glass. Sarr lacks 20-30 lbs to be able to fight against NBA bigs.

Then we need a backup PG who can shoot, another wing shooter and another big who can shoot. We cannot have KA and Gobert on at the same time. Especially not those 2 and McDaniels. It limits us offensively way too much even if they are high IQ guys.

While I agree that KA was hurting our offense in certain matchups, I believe that losing him and Towns will be huge for this team. I had high expectations and hopes for Morris, but Monte performance was a huge disappointment. So if it is really about losing KA, Towns and Morris, it will be huge blow for MIN: because we will lose defensive versatility, secondary ballhandler, shooting, rebounding, passing etc... TC better have a plan how to workaround it...

[MN7725]

Zach Lowe tried to do fake KAT trades at the end of his recent podcast

The NY teams were the only ones that were possible for one team trades

Otherwise it gets multiple team where your trying to find new homes for other big man

[thinktank]

Ok all of you KAT traders, who are you going to get that will keep the Timberwolves relevant or even better than they are right now? It's pretty darn easy to say "Trade KAT" but what will you get in return? I know some of you won't be happy until he is gone, but what could you do, as GM, to get rid of him and make the Wolves better? That is what you have to do, you just can't trade KAT into space/for nothing. Please, no draft picks that will magically turn into Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Hakeem Olajuwon. The time to win is NOW.

Murray.

[Domejandro]

Ok all of you KAT traders, who are you going to get that will keep the Timberwolves relevant or even better than they are right now? It's pretty darn easy to say "Trade KAT" but what will you get in return? I know some of you won't be happy until he is gone, but what could you do, as GM, to get rid of him and make the Wolves better? That is what you have to do, you just can't trade KAT into space/for nothing. Please, no draft picks that will magically turn into Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Hakeem Olajuwon. The time to win is NOW.

Murray.

I keep seeing this name be brought up, but unless Minnesota is getting significant additional value back, Dejounte Murray's actual on-court impact is not that great. He is a pretty mediocre to poor defensive player who coasts on reputation and gambling, isn't particularly efficient, can't operate effectively off-ball, and has an attitude.

He's a fine-ish starter, but I feel like people are completely operating off of vibes and narratives, whenever he gets brought up.

[thinktank]

Ok all of you KAT traders, who are you going to get that will keep the Timberwolves relevant or even better than they are right now? It's pretty darn easy to say "Trade KAT" but what will you get in return? I know some of you won't be happy until he is gone, but what could you do, as GM, to get rid of him and make the Wolves better? That is what you have to do, you just can't trade KAT into space/for nothing. Please, no draft picks that will magically turn into Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Hakeem Olajuwon. The time to win is NOW.

Murray.

I keep seeing this name be brought up, but unless Minnesota is getting significant additional value back, Dejounte Murray's actual on-court impact is not that great. He is a pretty mediocre to poor defensive player who coasts on reputation and gambling, isn't particularly efficient, can't operate effectively off-ball, and has an attitude.

He's a fine-ish starter, but I feel like people are completely operating off of vibes and narratives, whenever he gets brought up.

That's fair. I assume we would get more than just Murray back. Like their #1 this year.

Bottom line. KAT was 18 and 10 before this playoffs. This year he was 19 and 9.

I just don't think he's a winner. I'm sorry to any I offend.

[Klomp]

Ok all of you KAT traders, who are you going to get that will keep the Timberwolves relevant or even better than they are right now? It's pretty darn easy to say "Trade KAT" but what will you get in return? I know some of you won't be happy until he is gone, but what could you do, as GM, to get rid of him and make the Wolves better? That is what you have to do, you just can't trade KAT into space/for nothing. Please, no draft picks that will magically turn into Magic Johnson/Michael Jordan/Hakeem Olajuwon. The time to win is NOW.

Murray.

I keep seeing this name be brought up, but unless Minnesota is getting significant additional value back, Dejounte Murray's actual on-court impact is not that great. He is a pretty mediocre to poor defensive player who coasts on reputation and gambling, isn't particularly efficient, can't operate effectively off-ball, and has an attitude.

He's a fine-ish starter, but I feel like people are completely operating off of vibes and narratives, whenever he gets brought up.

I think he suffers from some of the same narratives KAT and even Rudy have earlier in his career. He has been part of some brutal team defenses, so as one of the few with a defensive reputation, he gets the blame for it. As for his offensive efficiency, he might not be great but he has improved his shooting numbers across the board almost every year.

Honestly, the biggest issue I have with it is that we really aren't getting any younger. Not that it should be an ultimate goal, but to me saving money (which is probably reason number one to trade Towns) goes hand-in-hand with getting younger in most cases.

[Domejandro]

Murray.

I keep seeing this name be brought up, but unless Minnesota is getting significant additional value back, Dejounte Murray's actual on-court impact is not that great. He is a pretty mediocre to poor defensive player who coasts on reputation and gambling, isn't particularly efficient, can't operate effectively off-ball, and has an attitude.

He's a fine-ish starter, but I feel like people are completely operating off of vibes and narratives, whenever he gets brought up.

I think he suffers from some of the same narratives KAT and even Rudy have earlier in his career. He has been part of some brutal team defenses, so as one of the few with a defensive reputation, he gets the blame for it. As for his offensive efficiency, he might not be great but he has improved his shooting numbers across the board almost every year.

Honestly, the biggest issue I have with it is that we really aren't getting any younger. Not that it should be an ultimate goal, but to me saving money (which is probably reason number one to trade Towns) goes hand-in-hand with getting younger in most cases.

For what it is worth, it is the complete opposite, in my eyes. Dejounte Murray largely gets no criticism for often being net-negative defensive player (huge gambler) because he build up a reputation as an elite defensive player on the San Antonio Spurs.

Dejounte Murray has a high usage rate, has a 2.5 A/TO ratio (good for 78th in the NBA), is inefficient from the field, most data indicates he is not a net-positive defensive player, and he has a history of attitude problems. Just seems like a horrendous fit next to Anthony Edwards on all counts, outside of a reasonably affordable contract for a starting-level Point-Guard.

[TimberKat]

Pascal Siakam, Pacers Agree To Four-Year, $189.5M Contract - 47.5 each year. Does that change anyone's view of Town's appx 50M a year contract? Seems like it's on par with Siakam

[Sealab2024]

I wanna see what KAT does this year. There were moments in the playoffs where I swear he got it like he never had before. KAT has that tone of a dude that becomes awesome in his 30's when the awkwardness and over-exhuberance of youth fades away a bit. There's a world where KAT becomes a wiley vet, and I wanna see if it's next year.

[shrink]

Pascal Siakam, Pacers Agree To Four-Year, $189.5M Contract - 47.5 each year. Does that change anyone's view of Town's appx 50M a year contract? Seems like it's on par with Siakam

While I give the edge to Towns, Siakim and KAT are probably similarly ranked in the NBA as borderline All NBA players. Both have won the award twice. Unfortunately for Siakim, his two wins in 2020 and 2022 didn’t coincide with 2021 or 2024, when he could sign a new deal or extension, so Siakim is on a max starting at $42.3. Towns hit his in the correct year, so he was eligible for the extra 5% of the cap, so his supermax starts at $49.35.

[thinktank]

I wanna see what KAT does this year. There were moments in the playoffs where I swear he got it like he never had before. KAT has that tone of a dude that becomes awesome in his 30's when the awkwardness and over-exhuberance of youth fades away a bit. There's a world where KAT becomes a wiley vet, and I wanna see if it's next year.

According to my wife, when he stops making faces like he’s a child getting splashed in a pool, that’s when he will turn the corner.

To clarify, she’s referring to his drives—his facial expressions communicate an almost constant state of panic. Those eyes lit up and the mouth wide open—he just doesn’t have the countenance of a person who’s in control, and maybe even relaxed and enjoying himself.

I think there’s something to that.

[Sealab2024]

I wanna see what KAT does this year. There were moments in the playoffs where I swear he got it like he never had before. KAT has that tone of a dude that becomes awesome in his 30's when the awkwardness and over-exhuberance of youth fades away a bit. There's a world where KAT becomes a wiley vet, and I wanna see if it's next year.

According to my wife, when he stops making faces like he’s a child getting splashed in a pool, that’s when he will turn the corner.

To clarify, she’s referring to his drives—his facial expressions communicate an almost constant state of panic. Those eyes lit up and the mouth wide open—he just doesn’t have the countenance of a person who’s in control, and maybe even relaxed and enjoying himself.

I think there’s something to that.

A perfect encapsulation of talking to a woman. An insane conversation in which it slowly becomes apparent that somehow, she knows what she's talking about.

[Worm Guts]

I wanna see what KAT does this year. There were moments in the playoffs where I swear he got it like he never had before. KAT has that tone of a dude that becomes awesome in his 30's when the awkwardness and over-exhuberance of youth fades away a bit. There's a world where KAT becomes a wiley vet, and I wanna see if it's next year.

According to my wife, when he stops making faces like he’s a child getting splashed in a pool, that’s when he will turn the corner.

To clarify, she’s referring to his drives—his facial expressions communicate an almost constant state of panic. Those eyes lit up and the mouth wide open—he just doesn’t have the countenance of a person who’s in control, and maybe even relaxed and enjoying himself.

I think there’s something to that.

Could be, but if it was going to change, it probably should have happened by now.

[shrink]

Could be, but if it was going to change, it probably should have happened by now.

Maybe, but remember that Towns has seen nothing but constantly changing coaches and young teammates his whole career here. It’s been less than two years since bringing in Gobert that caused a massive reprioritization of KAT’s play on both sides of the ball. He also has had to change his game from being the #1 option to helping Rudy and Ant get theirs. Heck, it’s only been 16 months since DLo left. And on top of this, he’s had two longterm injuries, and this season when he got back, he was asked to play more like Naz Reid to try to maintain chemistry.

I am very curious what we might see from KAT next season with a full off-season with team stability. Can Finch give him a constant role that would help him feel more comfortable? And will that change what we see from Towns? I feel like we say this every year, but next season is a big year for KAT.

[thinktank]

I would say it’s the playoffs that matter.

Playoffs are just a different animal.

Still looking for KAT to take that playoff leap on offense.

On defense he’s looked great.

[thinktank]

I wanna see what KAT does this year. There were moments in the playoffs where I swear he got it like he never had before. KAT has that tone of a dude that becomes awesome in his 30's when the awkwardness and over-exhuberance of youth fades away a bit. There's a world where KAT becomes a wiley vet, and I wanna see if it's next year.

According to my wife, when he stops making faces like he’s a child getting splashed in a pool, that’s when he will turn the corner.

To clarify, she’s referring to his drives—his facial expressions communicate an almost constant state of panic. Those eyes lit up and the mouth wide open—he just doesn’t have the countenance of a person who’s in control, and maybe even relaxed and enjoying himself.

I think there’s something to that.

A perfect encapsulation of talking to a woman. An insane conversation in which it slowly becomes apparent that somehow, she knows what she's talking about.

My wife is pretty smart. Started her own business as an immigrant, so I’d never go that far.

And metaphors, well, we love almost nothing more than a good metaphor.