The Minnesota Timberwolves are going through a roller coaster of a season. After a pitiful 5-8 start, they rattled off five wins in a row, but fell back to their old ways and have now lost five of their last eight.
Sitting at 11th in the Western Conference and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, Minnesota will need to gain some serious ground in short order for this season to be fixed. Of course, their personnel limitations will play a major part in whether that happens or not.
With Karl-Anthony Towns going down with a calf injury in Washington two weeks ago, the Timberwolves will be without one of their most crucial players for a large stretch of the middle of the season heading into January. During that time, Minnesota will have to evaluate their performance as a team and determine where they see Towns fitting into their long-term plans.
If the team fares well, and Chris Finch and his staff seem to have an effective system in place sans Towns, the organization will have to consider the possibility of trading their star big man. If they were to do that, it would not be possible until after the season is over, seeing as Towns just signed a supermax extension last summer.
But if the Timberwolves do begin making plans to deal Towns once the season is over, they should not be willing to part with him for just anyone. Here are the only two players the Timberwolves should realistically consider for Karl-Anthony Towns’ replacement.
1. Anthony Davis
The Los Angeles Lakers’ featured big man has returned to All-Star form this season. While Anthony Davis is a perennial force in the frontcourt and a player with a very well-rounded game overall, he was not selected as an All-Star last year for the first time since his rookie season.
He is currently making big strides toward correcting that this season. Davis is averaging his most points per game since the 2017-18 season at 27.7, to go along with a career-high 12.4 rebounds per contest. He has been an unstoppable force for a Lakers team that desperately needs him to be.
As Los Angeles struggles to stay afloat, Davis has been the biggest driving force behind their 11 victories, and it is not particularly close. Less than two weeks ago, he logged 55 and 44-point games back-to-back, helping the Lakers earn consecutive victories for just the second time this season. He has been on an all-time tear in his eleventh professional season.
That is why Davis is one of the few players the Timberwolves should be willing to part with Karl-Anthony Towns for. Towns is an extremely versatile and unique talent, so giving him up would have to net Minnesota an equally impactful player like Anthony Davis.
It was not too long ago that Timberwolves fans would have scoffed at the idea of trading Davis for Towns, given Davis’ lengthy injury history. But if Minnesota is looking to move on from Towns, they would be wise to make a deal for Anthony Davis. With him currently performing at an MVP level, it would give the Timberwolves an instant and significant boost to their title hopes.
2. Jaren Jackson Jr.
Another player that fits the bill of Karl-Anthony Towns’ replacement is Jaren Jackson Jr. Perhaps the greatest reason why he is the other player Minnesota should consider trading Towns for is his incredible defensive ability.
Like Anthony Davis, Jaren Jackson has not only the physical tools and mindset of a great defender, but he has the body of work to go along with it. In his fifth pro season, Jackson is averaging an astonishing career-best 3.2 blocks per game, to go with 1.1 steals per outing as well.
Anthony Davis has the resume of a generationally great defender, with four All-Defensive teams and three blocks championships to his name. What Jaren Jackson has is the foundation to become that kind of generational player on the defensive side of the ball as well. He already earned his first All-Defensive selection in 2021-22.
And while he may not yet be the type of offensive stalwart that Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Davis is, Jackson plays his role to a tee and does everything necessary for Memphis’ offense to thrive.
If the Timberwolves are going to move on from Karl-Anthony Towns, they should be seeking to replace his production with a player who will have as much or more gravity than Towns does on the floor. Jackson certainly fits this bill, and his defensive upside combined with his age makes him the perfect player to slide in next to Rudy Gobert as Minnesota’s potential new starting power forward.