Lakers News: Where LA Ranks in Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Odds

The Timberwolves All-Star could be on the move this summer.

May 30, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) during game five of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

All-Star Minnesota Timberwolves power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns had an up-and-down individual run during his club's march to an eventual Western Conference Finals five-game loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Towns surprisingly proved his defensive mettle for much of the Timberwolves' surprisingly deep playoff stint, emerging as one of the club's best high post defenders on a team that boasts, you know, the current Defensive Player of the Year in pricey center Rudy Gobert. Towns' jumper came and went, and he coughed up some dicey turnovers, but by and large he had a solid run.

During the playoffs, Towns averaged 19.1 points on .466/.361/.855 shooting splits, nine rebounds, 2.6 assists (against 1.7 turnovers) and 0.8 swipes a night. Respectable sums all.

Thanks to the rise of multifaceted, two-way Sixth Man of the Year big man Naz Reid throughout these playoffs (he has a jumper and can guard the rim), Towns has become a bit expendable, and with Minnesota's salary cap set to explode, it seems quite possible he may be shipped out this offseason.

Per the latest BetOnline rankings, the Lakers have been awarded the seventh-best odds to nab KAT via trade this summer, at +1200. A trade package for Towns' maximum contract could be achieved by bundling multiple veteran contracts together, or by flipping one of All-Stars LeBron James or Anthony Davis. Davis, like Towns, is a John Calipari-era Kentucky alum.

Towns would be an awkward fit with Los Angeles in a lot of respects. Making him a third star alongside James and Davis would likely leave L.A. extremely vulnerable along the perimeter, but James and Davis are currently better than Towns (if older), so swapping him out for either of them doesn't make much sense. The on-court fit of James and Towns, offensively, could be pretty spectacular, if the right defensive pieces were added around them (assuming Davis was traded for Towns in this scenario). Towns' ability to mesh alongside Gobert would bode well for a possible Towns-Davis tandem, at least, but this group's issues would outweigh its strengths if James was still in town.

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