Minnesota Timberwolves howling over Karl-Anthony Towns extension

The Minnesota Timberwolves had certainly made it a point to celebrate the supermax extension for All-Star NBA center/power forward Karl-Anthony Towns. And that is not just a courtesy, but almost a necessity in today’s NBA.

Unlike other professional sports, the National Basketball Association is driven as much by stars on the basketball court as by the owners, executives, and coaches. As we have witnessed throughout the recent history of the sport, a single disgruntled star who wants to be traded can have a horrific domino effect upon an NBA roster, forcing a former playoff-contending team to agree to trade that star for the best value possible, and attempt to reload the roster for some future NBA Playoffs run.

Rather than let a player reach the point of discontent, it’s simply far easier for NBA teams to work to maintain satisfaction and contentment with the current roster than try to change the mind of a start player who has decided that the grass is greener elsewhere.

But before anyone misinterprets what we’re saying here, the Timberwolves have placed their stake in the ground, and are building this roster around their veteran big, Karl-Anthony Towns.

KAT makes sense as ‘The Guy,’ for the Timberwolves. He’s been their guy through thick and thin for the past seven years. And when we say thin, we mean razor thin. Since being drafted by the team with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Timberwolves have been awarded a lottery pick in the NBA Draft no less than four of the past seven seasons.

That includes the first overall pick used in the 2020 NBA Draft to select Anthony Edwards.

Supermax contracts are not handed out easily.  Players are eligible for supermax contracts when they have between 7-9 years of NBA experience and can meet one of the following additional criteria:

• Made an All-NBA team in the previous season or each of the two seasons prior to being extension eligible.
• Were named Defensive Player of the Year in the previous season or each of the two seasons prior to being extension eligible.
• Were crowned MVP in one of the previous three seasons

The number of players on a supermax contract is limited, and the Minnesota Timberwolves have two in Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.

It’s a big deal for a player to qualify for a supermax contract. No wonder the Minnesota Timberwolves howled over Karl-Anthony Town’s supermax extension.