It’s no secret that the Minnesota Timberwolves will go as far as Karl-Anthony Towns will take them this season. And so far, he’s saying all the right things.
Karl-Anthony Towns has always been s safe, easy quote for the media.
The Minnesota Timberwolves superstar is known for his perfect — some might say too perfect — answers to canned questions and tougher inquiries alike. But now, he’s moved a bit beyond the cookie-cutter answers to show the world that he doesn’t particularly care for what they think about him or his squad.
In a recent interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Towns deflected questions about goals and expectations for the Wolves by simply stating that if Minnesota plays their game and stays healthy, they’ll be just fine.
Basically, he expects to lead the Timberwolves to the playoffs.
Towns also handled questions about his leadership style rather adeptly.
First, he was asked about the team-sanctioned trip to the Bahamas that was more or less organized by Towns himself.
"Q: Can you talk about the Bahamas trip you set up for the team before training camp?A: I just put the idea out and put my money where my mouth is. The team, the guys went to the Bahamas. They made the decision to show up and show how committed they are to this organization, to this team and to this season. I was just trying to be the voice. I was just trying to bring the idea.Don’t give me no credit. It’s these guys in this locker room that made it possible. They made the sacrifice to go to the Bahamas on their personal time. They were not required to do that."
Towns deflects to the guys who made the commitment to be there. The “put my money where my mouth is” comment is important too: Towns knows it’s put-up or shut-up time.
Then, a rather thoughtful response to a question about his leadership style in general.
"Q: What is the key to your leadership?A: True leaders don’t need to be doing all the ‘rah, rah’ s—. Everyone is a different leader. Everyone has different ways. For my career, I’d led by action. I’m the first one to come in the gym. The last one to leave. I’ve played games where I shouldn’t have played, but I have played to help the team win.Leadership comes as the person who is just being the vocal portion of an idea. Everyone has to come together and lead in a certain way. Everyone has to feel entitled. And everyone has to have a part of the ownership of this team and its success. Listen, I am doing my best to make everyone better and do what I’m supposed to do. But at the end of the day, we’re all leaders in this locker room and doing it together."
Towns knows that his ability to lead this team will be under a microscope, especially following the manner in which Jimmy Butler left the team just under a year ago and the vacuum of leadership that was created in his absence.
Clearly, Towns is a different style of leader than Butler, and now he needs to prove that he can bring this team to where they want to go.
Based on the comments that Towns gave Spears in this article, and the measured way he responded to leadership questions while simultaneously swatting away outside scrutiny, it certainly appears as though Towns is ready for the challenge.
Now, it’s time to see if Towns can put his money where his mouth is.