Warriors Nearly Traded for Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns

Karl-Anthony Towns nearly went to the west coast before a trade to the New York Knicks.

Nov 14, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski (2) drives past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks acquired a hot commodity when they traded for Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

According to The Athletic insider Anthony Slater, the Knicks weren't the only ones looking to trade for Towns this offseason.

"In the last couple of months, the Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves had a conversation about Karl Anthony-Towns, league sources said, but it didn’t go anywhere. The Timberwolves targeted a specific package from the New York Knicks that the Warriors didn’t possess. There’s no other obvious big name immediately available as the regular season arrives," Slater writes.

The Knicks had to trade Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick to the Wolves to acquire Towns, which is a package most teams in the league could not beat.

This should show how valuable other teams view Towns, and that could be good news for the Knicks. Towns has the ability to raise the ceiling tenfold for the Knicks, and that could be evidenced early in the year, especially when there aren't many centers better than him in the league.

The Warriors had plans to be aggressive in the offseason, but it appears the Knicks had the summer that Golden State wanted. No team had as dynamic of an offseason with two major trades in Towns and Mikal Bridges, and that should raise the potential for the Knicks.

There isn't a guarantee that trading for Towns will make the Knicks better, but it's about the attempt and desire to make the team as good as possible. For that, New York should be commended, especially considering other teams were looking to make the same moves it did.

The Knicks will begin their season tonight as they take on the defending champion Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Towns' New York debut.

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