NBA Rumors: 3 NBA teams who could tempt Timberwolves to trade KAT

There are those who believe that the Minnesota Timberwolves have no other choice than to trade away a discounted star power forward Karl-Anthony Towns in order to be able to afford other rising stars on the Timberwolves roster. I am not convinced that is the case, particularly due to the fact that I cannot envision the new Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly trading away star NBA Players at their lowest value.

But some ‘unnamed NBA Executives,’ believe that a trade by the Minnesota Timberwolves of one of their high-value stars is in the works and imminent. Of course, whether true or not, or whether the Timberwolves will or won’t trade KAT, the timing of this particular rumor is superb. The 2023 NBA Draft is coming up this month, and if a trade occurs, the timing of such a trade right now would favor the Timberwolves.

Why?  Well, the focus of this Timberwolves team has pivoted from Karl-Anthony Towns to Anthony Edwards. And  President Connelly has stated that their focus is building around Anthony Edwards going forward.

How are you paying for that?

The Timberwolves have two tracks of player timelines to invest their NBA Salary Cap into. There is the veteran track that includes C Rudy Gobert, PF Karl-Anthony Towns, and PG Mike Conley Jr. Of course, there is a second track of younger players that includes SG Anthony Edwards, SF Jaden McDaniels, and could also include C Naz Reid, and Luka Garza, SF/SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Wendell Moore Jr.

The problem is that most of the Timberwolves’ current payroll is consumed by the veteran track, even as the younger track is now due to get paid. And so, it will come down to one side or the other.

This is an either-or problem that comes down to how can the Timberwolves compensate both rails to succeed. The answer appears more and more to be that the Timberwolves cannot pay both factions.

In the end, the team will likely side with Anthony Edwards, and pay him and all of the young players who complement his style. So what of the marketable veterans? Well, here are three teams who have the incentives to try to pry Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves:

Team III: A veteran star to placate locker room rumblings

The Portland Trail Blazers are also facing a time bomb, that being the need to satisfy the fight-or-flight demands of start Damian Lillard.  And those demands have escalated from a quiet request to an ultimatum.

Amidst all of the rumblings of how the Trail Blazers will address the glaring fork in the road this off-season, there is this simple choice. The Portland Trail Blazers must either trade star Damian Lillard and reassemble a new Portland Trail Blazers roster without him,  or trade assets to acquire an elite NBA star who can help Lillard compete for an NBA Championship now, and simply roll the dice.

The Trail Blazers are caught in NBA limbo. With a player of Damian Lillard’s talent, the Trail Blazers will never be a team that tanks often enough to be in line for a top NBA Draft pick. But without a second or third NBA elite player, the Trail Blazers will never compete for an NBA Championship either.

Lillard’s had enough

That is what has frustrated Damian Lillard for so long.   But speaking of Lillard, what is his take regarding his chances of playing for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2023-24 NBA season?

Damian Lillard is a highly respected player for the Trail Blazers, so much so that the front office will do almost everything to build the team around him. Will that involve changing the landscape of the Portland Trail Blazers roster, and likely the geography of the NBA? Without a doubt, yes. Could that mean trading for Minnesota Timberwolves’ versatile big man Karl-Anthony Towns?

It has some logic to it.

We have already seen one trade scenario that involves the Trail Blazers acquiring KAT. We also know that the Timberwolves have met with a Top-5 rookie prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. Is a draft-day deal pending?  The clues suggest that is the case.

Team II: Minnesota Timberwolves West?

The Los Angeles Lakers made noise in the NBA Playoffs after benefiting from four former Minnesota Timberwolves players. So why would they hesitate to try landing another former Timberwolves player?

Well, for starters, do they have the cash to do so?  After all, if the Los Angeles Lakers are squeezed by their interest to sign backup center Naz Reid, where will the other $20+ million come from to pull off a trade for Towns?

Well, that’s part of the challenge, that’s for sure. But the Lakers are a marquee NBA team that simply loves to do things in the largest and grandest style.

Red carpet type of trade

They are a team that is built to win now, as LeBron James, their biggest attraction, has limited playing time remaining. So what are the goals of the Lakers this off-season? Well, despite the negative messaging in the Tweet shown below, the Lakers do need a big man to allow Anthony Davis to slide back to his natural power forward role:

While there are plenty of NBA Rumors that link the Lakers to backup center Naz Reid, the Lakers have LeBron James, and his window is now. So wouldn’t it make sense for the Lakers to go All-In now, and then try to patchwork the roster next season? Here is how that could take shape:

The fun part of this type of deal is the fact that if the two teams are motivated to get a deal done, they can do it. The only speed bump is the fact that the teams may not be motivated to do this deal.

Team I: KAT is intertwined with this NBA Eastern Conference team

There is a distant rumbling of thunder on the horizon of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it’s getting louder. It seems that there is a growing sense that the New York Knicks are targetting the Minnesota Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason, and the way other factors are lining up, that could be something that gains traction this offseason.

Whether or not trade discussions have taken place, the logic behind this trade scenario is far too obvious to shut down from the get-go. In fact, Fansided’s very own NBA Insider/Analyst Ian Levy touted the heating-up rumors one month ago in a Step Back article, and it made sense then. The Heavy’s Sean Deveney touted the strong connection between Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks as well.  In fact, it appears as though everyone has the Knicks as a front-runner to trade for Timberwolves big Karl-Anthony Towns:

And we all know the saying about NBA rumors, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Take the treasure chest for KAT

The Knicks have amassed a war chest of picks and young players, that can be combined in any number of players/picks that could help the Timberwolves pay for young players now but also restock their cupboards with a new arsenal of future draft picks.

The Knicks, while very young, have a surprising window to get better now. Unlike the Timberwolves, they haven’t the same level of elite young talent on this roster. The team has been powered by the dominance of PG Jalen Brunson. The addition of a stretch-4/stretch-5 like Karl-Anthony Towns gives their offense an entirely new dimension that would be hard to stop in the NBA.

Of the three options listed, I believe that the Timberwolves would be most interested in trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the NBA Eastern Conference because he has plenty of playing time left in his career. The team proved to themselves that this Timberwolves roster has enough pop in the tank to win without Karl-Anthony Towns. But any trade that sends him to another team immediately upgrades their roster and could force the Timberwolves’ own timeline for an NBA Championship run to lengthen once more.

This is a narrow and treacherous trail to trek right now. The Timberwolves have a bad reputation for giving up on players who reach elite status on other team rosters.  Karl-Anthony Towns is a player who is a known NBA star already. If the Timberwolves are prepared to trade Towns, this must be more than a convenient salary dump. The Timberwolves must be certain of getting an NBA stat, either a veteran or via the 2023 NBA Draft, in return.