9-Time NBA All-Star Reacts to Knicks’ Karl Anthony-Towns Trade

Paul George offered his thoughts on the Knicks' recent blockbuster trade for Karl Anthony-Towns.

Feb 25, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) keeps the ball away from Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t the only Eastern Conference team to land an All-Star acquisition this offseason after signing Paul George in the free agency market.

Just last week, the New York Knicks struck a blockbuster deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire the veteran All-Star center, Karl Anthony-Towns.

After the addition of Mikal Bridges and the re-signing of OG Anunuoby, the Knicks remain one of the East’s biggest threats, led by the veteran guard Jalen Brunson.

While 76ers forward Paul George joked the Knicks made a “terrible” trade to acquire Towns, the Sixers veteran truthfully feels New York engaged in a win-win trade with the Wolves by moving off of Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo while bringing in a notable big like Towns.

“It’s a win for a win,” George told reporters on Friday. “Give up Julius for KAT. Both of those guys are very skilled and very good. I think for that group and what they envision, it’s kind of giving them more space for Jalen and that offense to thrive. KAT is obviously one of the best three-point shooting bigs in the league—probably history of the league. I get the dynamic that they wanted there, but it’s going to be interesting, obviously. Knicks is on the rise, as well as ourselves and a couple of other teams. They definitely made a splash with that pickup.”

Paul George gives his thoughts on KAT being traded to the Knicks. He joked initially that “Karl sucks” and it was a bad trade for New York before calling Karl one of his best friends and giving a real answer about it. #Sixers pic.twitter.com/1uIBSp66rn

— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) October 4, 2024

Towns leaves the Timberwolves after spending the first nine years of his career in Minnesota. With nearly 600 games of experience, Towns averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds throughout his career. He’s become one of the NBA’s most notable stretch-fives, knocking down 40 percent of his threes.

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Not only does Towns have four All-Star nods to his name, but he also goes to New York with 32 playoff games under his belt. Last season, Towns produced 19 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from the field. He helped lead the Timberwolves to a Western Conference Finals appearance.

Towns now joins a championship-hungry Knicks team. Without Towns last season, the Knicks defeated the Sixers in round one of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. They fell short against the Indiana Pacers in round two.

While New York got better with another All-Star acquisition, so did the Sixers. In addition to extending Embiid and Maxey, the Sixers lured in George after his run with the Clippers. The Sixers hope the nine-time All-Star serves as a major difference-maker in the playoffs as they are searching for an NBA title.

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