A lot of Minnesota Timberwolves fans, including myself, had mixed emotions watching Karl-Anthony Towns lift the Larry O'Brien trophy in a different uniform.
One thing, however, is pretty clear, if it wasn't already: the Wolves lost that trade. Obviously, they had to do it with the apron restrictions, but they lost the trade officially now.
All hope is not lost, though. Julius Randle will certainly be moved this offseason, and the importance of nailing that trade is greater than ever. If the Wolves can trade Randle for a better-fitting second option for Anthony Edwards, the KAT trade may not look as disastrous.
As it stands -- trading Karl-Anthony Towns is a bad look
Everybody knows why the Wolves traded Towns. It was never personal, and as a matter of fact, it wasn't even much of a basketball decision. It was strictly financial.
The Wolves thought that bringing Randle back in the trade would replace the scoring and gravity that Towns brought, but they were wrong.
Randle is probably a tenth of the shooter that Towns is, which is the first issue. With Towns next to Gobert, there were no spacing issues because teams had to respect him from 30 feet out. On the contrary, teams are daring Randle to beat them with the deep ball, and it's working in their favor.
I'm not saying KAT doesn't have his faults, which were on display in the finals (fouling, erratic play, timid shooting), but the things he is awesome at are, coincidentally, what the Wolves have missed over the last two playoff runs.
In hindsight, the Wolves should have traded Rudy Gobert instead of Towns. They were both making a lot of money, but Gobert was fairly new to the team, and the Wolves paid the Utah Jazz a Brink's truck to get him here. It just never made sense at the time to trade Gobert. But now, more than ever, the Wolves have to nail this second trade with Randle.
The trade return for Julius Randle will determine the Wolves future
There have been a few theories as to what to expect in a Julius Randle trade return. One of them is to trade for a star that has some risks attached to them (Kyrie Irving, Ja Morant, Kawhi Leonard, etc.). The other theory is to essentially divide his contract in half and trade for two role players.
Personally, I think the Wolves need to take the star route. Edwards needs a reliable second option. With the parity in the league right now, there's no reason why, if he gets a good co-star, the Wolves can't compete for a championship.
The Wolves can still save themselves from losing the KAT trade even more. But it will involve Tim Connelly working some of his magic and retooling the roster to better fit his 24-year-old franchise cornerstone.
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