Dallas Basketball

Mavericks Conference Rival Makes Curious Trade

The Minnesota Timberwolves just shipped off one of their stars.

Keenan Womack

Jan 7, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jan 7, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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Shams Bomb! On Friday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves made the first big trade of the post-Adrian Wojnarowski "Woj Bomb" era by trading power forward Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, breaking up the "Nova Knicks."

A bit of a surprising trade, to say the least, the Western Conference runners-up are shipping off what was a pillar of their franchise for the last several seasons. The timing seems odd considering what they just accomplished with Towns as a major part of their offense, a floor-spacing big man who can shoot the ball as well as any 7-footer in the NBA (just ask him).

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Rumors were swirling that DiVincenzo was unhappy in his role, according to the post below on X.

This is an interesting trade for multiple reasons. The first is that it completely reworks the offense for the Timberwolves, as they no longer have the same ability to run the pick-and-pop that has been a staple of their offense for as long as Towns has been playing there. While Randle brings his own benefits to the table, it is still a bit confounding as to why they would make the move now.

Though Towns struggled to do what he does – shoot the ball – in the Dallas Mavericks series, connecting on just 37.9% of overall field goals and 24.2% from three, it is still going to cause a complete change in the way that the Timberwolves attack defenses.

For the Knicks, opening up the floor could help players like former Maverick and current New York point guard Jalen Brunson as well as help Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, and could provide some rebounding as well. After losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, the Knicks still have issues with big-man depth, but at least this move adds some floor spacing to their repertoire.

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Keenan Womack
KEENAN WOMACK

Keenan Womack is a sportswriter native to Dallas, Texas, who has spent the last 12 years in Austin, the home of his alma mater, the University of Texas. Keenan has covered sports for SB Nation, Bleacher Report, Rivals/Orangebloods, a host of his own sites and now, Fan Nation. Focusing on basketball, Keenan was on the beat for the Longhorns hoops team for the last two-and-a-half years before moving on to pursue other opportunities. He is married and lives with his wife close to the Moody Center, so they can continue to catch games together.

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