New York Knicks 'Monitoring' Karl-Anthony Towns Trade; Should Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavs Follow Suit?

The Knicks are among the teams "monitoring" the trade available for Karl-Anthony Towns. Should the Mavs do the same as they seek to win with Luka Doncic?

DALLAS — Entering every NBA season, various star players are the focus of trade speculation. The situations many like to focus on are the ones with top-flight superstars who may be growing tired of a stagnant situation with their current team, making a trade request feel looming. Other times, players are in a situation where the fit is underwhelming, and a trade may be the only way to rectify it. 

For the latter, it takes time for a team to realize that a trade is the proper outcome. There usually is a lot of optimism surrounding teams entering any given season that tends to fade quickly if poor results hit them coming out of the gate.

When identifying players that have flown under the radar in free agency but will become a storyline ahead of the midseason trade deadline, ESPN's Tim MacMahon selected Karl-Anthony Towns. If the Minnesota Timberwolves seek to make a significant change, it'll surely need to involve Towns due to the team's current financial configuration, with Anthony Edwards signing a possible supermax contract.

“There has been some discussion about Towns, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if that gets much louder as the trade deadline nears,” MacMahon wrote. “The face of the franchise for the Timberwolves has transitioned to Edwards, fresh off signing a new potential supermax extension. If Minnesota is going to make another major change, it would need to be by trading Towns.”

Towns, 27, is coming off a down season riddled with injuries, averaging 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. He faced a situation where he had to adjust to playing alongside a non-shooting big in Rudy Gobert while also having to handle guarding out in space within the Timberwolves' defensive scheme. The star big man has career averages of 23.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 511 regular season games.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

There is optimism from the Timberwolves in Gobert and Towns meshing at a greater level next season, but if the results aren't there, perhaps trade discussions would be a natural outcome. According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, the New York Knicks continue to monitor Towns' situation in Minnesota for a possible trade.

"Although a seemingly poor fit together in Minnesota, multiple sources stated that Thibodeau would welcome coaching Towns again," Bondy wrote. "That’s relevant if Towns hits the trade market, and the Knicks, according to sources, are monitoring his situation."

If Towns were to become available, the first factor any team would need to consider is that he'll begin an estimated four-year, $222.7 million contract in 2024-25. When identifying teams to watch to trade for Towns if presented with the opportunity, Bleacher Report included the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks, in addition to the Knicks.

The mechanics behind a trade to acquire Towns for the Mavs would likely require either Kyrie Irving or an extensive trade package with many salaries of role players that add up to a substantial amount to match sufficiently. However, if attempted during the 2023-24 season, Dallas would be limited to outright sending out a 2027 first-round pick due to ongoing top-10 pick protections on a first-round pick owed to the Knicks that carry through the 2025 season.  

Since the Timberwolves would likely be moving Towns due to a poor fit with Gobert, the idea would likely be to add more talent to the wing. They will likely need to prioritize talent over draft picks since they must show Anthony Edwards they can win at a high level soon. The Mavs have Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Josh Green as young players who could intrigue on the wing. However, the Mavs were unwilling to include Green in a trade for veteran centers like Deandre Ayton and Clint Capela in the summer. Would that change based on early-season results? That remains to be seen.

Something to consider for both the Mavs and Timberwolves — the two teams who traveled to Abu Dhabi to participate in NBA Global Games — is the lack of success those teams tend to have in the regular season. Matt Moore of Action Network calculated that teams that travel to the Middle East or Asia in preseason are 13-5-2 to the under for regular season win total since 2013. If poor results occur, both teams could face pressure to make a midseason change. 

The other question would be whether the Mavs view Towns as the proper trade target to pair with Doncic to entice him to stay long-term. While the threat of having Doncic and Towns in the two-man game should frighten any defense, a team led by the Slovenian superstar will naturally be among the NBA's best offenses. Would Dallas manage to defend at a high enough level? If required to give up wing talent in a trade, it would only worsen the team's outlook to do so while limiting their potential to replenish talent in that area due to parting with assets to acquire Towns. 

Dallas Mavericks rookie guards Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns :: Ryan Lim / AFP via Getty Images

It's not an easy set of questions to answer, considering teams like the Sacramento Kings overcame poor defense with overwhelming offensive firepower. With a 116.0 defensive rating (24th), the Kings finished with a 48-34 record but did so with what was by far the NBA's best offensive rating at 118.6 — leading the league by a 1.3 margin. Sacramento proved unable to successfully get by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

The other element of the situation is the Mavs' need to quickly rebound from failing to qualify for the play-in tournament last season. While any move comes with pros and cons, the only possible changes that can be made are the ones that are available in the general NBA landscape. Dallas is encouraged by the potential of Dereck Lively II, who often draws comparisons to Tyson Chandler within the organization and certainly could receive patience for his development. For a team that pursued trade options at center this summer, the results achieved by the rookie will be something to track. For now, he's done "everything" to earn a Day 1 starting role in the eyes of the Mavs organization. 

One benefit Towns provides is he at least has the physical intangibles most of the Mavs' centers lack, given he is 7-foot with a 7-foot-4 wingspan while weighing 248 pounds. Lively is the closest in that regard, standing at 7-foot-1 and boasting a 7-foot-7 wingspan. He mentioned on media day that he consistently weighs in at 240 pounds after spending the past few months in the Mavs' weight room. 

When a player of Towns' talent signed to such a large, long-term contract becomes the focus of hypothetical trade analysis, many layers exist to unpack. The Mavs must ensure they are doing what it takes to achieve short-term success with Doncic, given the teams' fall from appearing in the Western Conference Finals in 2022 to finishing with a 38-44 record and failing to qualify for the play-in tournament last season. Regardless, the new restrictions in the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement would make fielding a team around a trio of Doncic, Irving, and Towns challenging. 

The same line of logic applies to the Knicks or any other potential trade suitor that could be potential competitors with the Mavs for Towns' services if, of course, the team sought even to consider the option. New York could outbid Dallas, but would the team rather wait on the possible future availability of talents like Joel Embiid or Donovan Mitchell instead of pushing chips in for Towns? Again, the NBA star trade market is a complicated trade landscape for a reason that comes with a lot of nuance. It becomes all the more complex when surveying options midseason with the number of contracts needed to be moved with a limited amount of roster spots to do so.