What Was 'Too Onerous' About Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns Trade?

Why did the New York Knicks scratch a trade for Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns?

The New York Knicks have made no secret about their desire to attract Wildcats. Timberwolves, on the other hand, have proven more difficult to obtain.

New York has lingered on the radar of Karl-Anthony Towns' future as his performance and contract loom equally large on the Minnesota Timberwolves' attempts to pull themselves out of mediocrity. SNY insider Ian Begley confirmed that the Knicks made a move for Towns' services but that bringing him aboard would force them to write checks they couldn't cash.

“What I had heard was that the salary, some people felt that the salary was just too onerous, at least at this point,” Begley said on ESPN's Lowe Post podcast. "They felt that the salary was going to really hurt them later in his deal."

As it stands, Towns is due to be an over $36 million cap hit for the 2023-24 season, the last before a massive four-year contract extension kicks in. That latter part is worth over $234 million guaranteed and is capped off by a $64 million player option in 2027-28. Minnesota is looking to unload some price tags as they're in pretty deep after adding Rudy Gobert on a big contract last summer. Towns, Gobert, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, and the newly resigned Naz Reid are due over $126 million in 2023-24 alone. 

Begley said that the Knicks could re-explore the possibility of adding Towns to the equation but it's far from a guarantee. Towns is also coming off an injury-riddled season, one that saw him play only 29 games due to a calf strain.

“I think obviously this dynamic can change at the drop of a dime," Begley clarified. "I do think though that if they could, if they loved the idea of Towns right now, they could've had him. That's just my kind of read on the landscape in general. So I think that tells you that they don't see him as the ultimate fix for everything, or the player to take them to the next step, no questions asked.”

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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