No, the Timberwolves are not trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the Suns

The Karl-Anthony Towns trade “rumors” have officially gone to a ridiculous place, all because of some tweet-liking and the media hype machine.

Folks, Karl-Anthony Towns is not going to be traded this summer.

We talked about Towns’ alleged unhappiness last week, as well as the hype machine-driven conversation regarding Tom Thibodeau’s job security.

And when the (completely hypothetical) question came down to “Towns or Thibodeau?”, well, things suddenly shifted the possibility of a Towns trade.

To be clear, there’s no real rumor. This all came out of the podcast mentioned at the above link, in which ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst discussed Towns’ discontent with the Wolves organization. That was followed by a tweet from the Suns’ Devin Booker that caused a frenzy.

Of course, this was an old photo, taken before Towns was in the NBA. Plenty of folks didn’t realize that, of course, and the train began to head downhill in a hurry.

Here’s former Wolves guard Zach LaVine‘s take on the situation.

And yes, Towns “liked” both tweets. Which isn’t exactly an endorsement, but it isn’t nothing, either.

There are myriad reasons why Towns won’t be traded, to Phoenix or anywhere else. We can start with the fact that he’s a 22-year-old All-Star making just $7.8 million. Never mind that even if Towns was unhappy enough to request a trade (there has yet to be a report that a trade was requested, which would be actual news), the Wolves could call his bluff, knowing that they can pay him more in a rookie contract extension than any other team. Nobody walks away from that extension, and Towns wouldn’t, either.

Of course, the Suns hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, and that’s going to keep fans of drama and manufactured intrigue on the edge of their seats over the next month or so.

It’s hard to imagine Tom Thibodeau, alleged hater of young players, trading a three-year veteran and All-Star for the right to select a much rawer, likely younger player first-overall in the draft. Remember, Jimmy Butler only has one more year on his contract and it’s in the Wolves’ best interest to contend again next year and try to keep both Towns and Butler in the fold.

A 47-win season with two All-Stars is nothing to sneeze at, and that’s somehow getting lost in this discussion about conflict within the organization. Conflict can be good (although admittedly some of the rumors coming out of Mayo Clinic Square don’t exactly sound like the healthy kind of conflict), and it would be prudent to wait this thing out and see where it goes.

Kevin O’Connor at The Ringer stoked the fire with a couple of trade ideas, but after alleging that “Towns largely underwhelmed as the third wheel” (Seriously, he said that. Click the link.), I’m not sure he can be taken seriously as an NBA mind anymore, but here they are:

"With all that said, it’s fun to imagine the possibilities. The Wolves expressed interest in Clippers center DeAndre Jordan during the season, so perhaps a deal could be struck around Towns for DJ and both Clippers first-rounders. Or what if Towns is the solution to Portland, Toronto, or Washington breaking up their backcourts? C.J. McCollum or Bradley Beal would be intriguing fits next to Butler, and they’re both signed long term."

There’s no indication that the Wolves are even listening to offers for Towns, much less actively shopping him. This will likely be a non-story in the grand scheme of things, but the nature of the offseason — and a couple weeks worth of less-than-outstanding playoff games — is that every single “rumor” will be magnified.

Next: Top 5 low-cost free agents for the Timberwolves to consider

We’ll keep an eye on it, but don’t lose too much sleep over the Towns rumors, Wolves fans. At least not yet, that is…