Report of teams interested in Karl-Anthony Towns is nothing new

Of the core pieces of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ roster, there are few as important as Karl-Anthony Towns. Going on eight years with the franchise, many see KAT as the second-greatest player in team history behind Kevin Garnett.

He has been with the Timberwolves through every up and down since 2015, and the prospect of him now having a generational co-star like Anthony Edwards next to him is incredibly exciting. It is obvious that his absence from the court since the end of November has had a major effect on Minnesota’s performance this season.

Recently, a report came out that other NBA teams are monitoring his current situation. Jon Krawczynski covers the Timberwolves as a senior writer for The Athletic, and he broke some interesting Karl-Anthony Towns news this week on Zach Lowe’s podcast, revealing that several teams are discussing his availability this summer.

"“Teams are already talking about it. There’s no doubt that other teams are eyeing this situation and looking to see if KAT will become available. I can tell you from everyone I’ve talked to within the organization, they very much believe in KAT. They believe that once he comes back and they have some time to build around (KAT), Ant and Gobert, they very much believe that can still work.”"

It should not be surprising that other NBA teams covet KAT

This report from Krawczynski should come as no shock to Timberwolves fans. Everyone in Minnesota is acutely aware of Karl-Anthony Towns’ unique ability and value. If other NBA teams believe a situation exists where they would have any remote chance of acquiring KAT, they are of course going to go to great lengths to make it happen.

Reports of teams around the NBA being “interested” in a star player are typically the biggest non-stories in the league. It almost goes without saying that any team would desire to add a top 25 player to their roster given the opportunity.

The second half of Jon’s quote also reinforces a likely pre-understood concept. There is no reason to believe that Chris Finch, Tim Connelly, or anyone from the Timberwolves organization has lost any confidence in their belief in this group. The team’s underwhelming season has been disappointing, but there has not been nearly a big enough sample size to write this roster off when healthy.

Minnesota still rightfully sees Karl-Anthony Towns as a franchise cornerstone, and their continued investment in him throughout his injury recovery should be encouraging for Timberwolves fans.