It’s a now-or-never season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They need to see if Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert can play together, and how that duo fits with emerging superstar Anthony Edwards. Minnesota is also a team about to get very expensive — the Timberwolves have the second-highest payroll in the league this season, and that is before the new max extensions for Towns and Edwards kick in next year (and don’t forget Jaden McDaniels is extension eligible).
It has much of the league expecting changes to come to the Timberwolves, and specifically Towns to potentially be on the trade block in the next year to 18 months (he would bring back a much larger haul than Gobert, especially coming off a down year for the French center last season).
The Knicks are one of the teams monitoring the situation, reports Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. That shouldn’t be a surprise, the Knicks are superstar hunting. Whether Towns is really a great fit on that roster or if they should be patient to see if a bigger name shakes free are legitimate questions, but Towns is a player worth keeping an eye on.
Except, can Towns and coach Tom Thibodeau get along? They have a history from their time together in Minnesota that was a bit rocky.
That’s not an issue, reports Bondy at the Post (in another story). Here is what Towns said about the situation:
“I got no problems with Thibs. We’ve been squashed that,” Towns said. “I still look at Thibs as one of the best Xs and Os coaches I’ve been able to play for. He breathes winning and I got nothing but respect for him.”
Meanwhile, Thibodeau had nothing but praise for Towns.
“Watching the progress he’s made throughout his career, he’s as gifted as they come,” Thibodeau said. “When you look at an offensive player, particularly a big, the skill set that he has, I think we all saw, to win the three-point contest and stuff like that, there’s nothing he can’t do offensively. He has continued to get better, I think. He had some injuries to deal with. I watched him play in FIBA (the World Cup, for the Dominican Republic), he played really well there. He’s really, really gifted.”
Whether this goes anywhere is another question entirely. With the Joel Embiid situation in Philadelphia one worth monitoring, and the same with Luka Doncic in Dallas, New York may have its sights set higher than Towns. But that’s why the word “monitor” is there, players and situations evolve. If this one does, it’s not a personal beef with Towns and Thibodeau that will stand in the way.
