Wolves hope to maximize Anthony Edwards’ potential with KAT’s trade to Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns is involved in what probably will become the biggest trade of the summer, as he’s expected to land this Monday in New York to finalize his deal with the Knicks. Ever since the news surfaced the internet, reports are suggesting that the Wolves are hoping to maximize Anthony Edward’s potential with this trade.

If this transfer is successful, Ant will be surrounded by more offensive power with new arrivals Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, plus a future first-round pick from the Detroit Pistons. The Athletic‘s Jon Krawczynski explains what are Minnesota’s train of thought.

“The Wolves made the deal to maximize Edwards’ window for the long haul, team sources told The Athletic,” he wrote. “The Wolves wanted to make sure Edwards could be on a competitive playoff team for much longer than just the next two years and believe the flexibility this move provides will aid that pursuit. Dealing Towns also could help them retain Reid, a wildly popular player in Minnesota who could be a free agent next summer.”

Julius Randle has a player option for $30.9M (20.0% of the cap) for the 2025-26 season.

Classic contract year coming up. He'll try and make up for lost time due to injuries. The Wolves found the creator they needed to take some scoring load away from Anthony Edwards. pic.twitter.com/1RkYycSfL8

— Ersin Demir (@EDemirNBA) September 30, 2024

With this deal, the Timberwolves get rid of Karl-Anthony’s four-year, $220.4 million extension, which was set to start this upcoming campaign. One the other hand, Randle is still on his two-year, $60 million contract, and Donte maintains his four-year, $46.8 million deal that ends in 2027.

The Wolves hope to gain more flexibility in shaping their squad around the young superstar. “As the Timberwolves analyzed their cap situation and looked at the landscape across the league, it was getting harder and harder for the Wolves to see a scenario where they could keep this team intact beyond this season, team sources said.

“Edwards is beginning a five-year max contract this season, [Rudy Gobert] has two years remaining on his max and Towns was starting a four-year, $220 million max extension this season,” Jon Krawczynski wrote on his report.

Nevertheless, the Wolves organization have other players to take care of. “Add to it big raises for [Jaden McDaniels] this season and [Naz Reid] last season, and the Wolves had entered the dreaded second apron that brings with it luxury tax penalties and obstacles for team-building meant to strongly discourage teams from crossing that threshold for more than a couple of seasons,” The Athletic reported.

Former NBA executive has his doubts about the recent Knicks-Wolves trade, suggesting that the New York club might have lost on this one

After news of this blockbuster negotiations first surfaced the web this weekend, we can’t help but wonder which team gained the most out of it. While it is clear that New York would be earning the better player, they are still losing two stars from their starting lineup. Former Memphis executive John Hollinger has his doubts.

“I’m worried this makes their roster too top-heavy and hollows out the wing depth,” he shared to the press this weekend. “New York’s remaining group now leans a little too heavily into the Thibodeauian fantasy of using only six players the entire night for all 82 games and hoping they don’t collapse in a heap in the playoffs.”

Hollinger went on to explain how absorbing KAT’s four-year, $220 million contract will affect Knicks’ finances and even shorten their competitive window going forward. “New York has little draft capital left to trade and is mere pennies from the second apron cap.

“It’s likely stuck with this roster until next offseason. …  Yes, the Knicks solved their starting center problem … but in doing so, they created enough other issues that the cure may be worse than the disease,” shared the ex-Grizzlies executive, who occasionally writes for The Athletic.