Report: Knicks interest in Karl-Anthony Towns trade 'would be mutual'
If the Minnesota Timberwolves want to move on from Karl-Anthony Towns this summer, it appears they will have no shortage of suitors. According to a report from Heavy's Sean Deveney, at least five teams are interested in acquiring the 27-year-old this summer and the most aggressive suitor may be the New York Knicks.
"The interest in making that happen would be mutual, for sure," An NBA source told Deveney. "KAT and the Knicks are intertwined. To some people, it's more of a matter of when they go after him, not if."
Towns is coming off a disappointing season that was derailed by a Grade 3 calf strain. After Towns missed 51 games with the injury, he returned to the team and averaged 20.8 points and eight rebounds in the final eight games of the regular season, but just 18.2 points and 10.2 rebounds in five playoff games.
Still, an Eastern Conference executive in Deveney's report believes the Timberwolves could still sell high this offseason due to Towns' age and the fact that he is under contract through the 2027-28 season.
"You can still sell high on Towns even though it was not a great year for him," the executive reportedly said. "He's signed. He's still young and he's good. But you need to have a tougher team around him and you want him in a comfort zone."
The Knicks make sense for both Towns and the Timberwolves for multiple reasons. Towns is from New Jersey and his former agent, Leon Rose, is currently the president for the Knicks. Towns would be reunited with former Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, and the Knicks are also a team with contender status, which could entice Towns to agree to a deal.
"That is why the Knicks are always coming up," Heavy reports. "He's from Jersey and has a base there. Personnel-wise, it would be a good mix. Everyone knows the connections there, everyone knows there is an interest."
Related: Chris Finch remains 'extremely confident' pairing Towns with Gobert
The idea of trading Towns could also be enticing after dealing five first-round picks and five players including Walker Kessler to acquire Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz last summer.
The report also lists the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers as potential suitors but the Knicks seem to be the team with the most assets to get a deal done, with Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride suggested as possible makeweights in any deal from the Knicks.
While there is interest in a Towns deal, it does not appear one is imminent. A Western Conference executive mentions in the Heavy piece that the Wolves "don't have to do anything right now," but have several questions that need to be addressed this summer, and could decide to run Towns and Gobert back next season.
