Just a few days before training camp, the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to a blockbuster trade, sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks and Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves.
Thursday night, the Knicks traveled to Minneapolis, marking the first time Towns played against the Timberwolves since the trade. The performance he had should have made the Minnesota front office regret their decision to trade him.
Towns had arguably his best performance of the season; putting up 32 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals on 10-for-12 shooting from the field, 5-for-5 from 3, and going 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
His performance is in the record books. The first record was this being the sixth time in his career to have at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game and the first time for the Knicks since Enes Freedom did it in 2017. The second record was Towns being the seventh player in Knicks history to have back-to-back games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds and the first since Bob McAdoo in 1978. He is the first player in the NBA to accomplish this feat since Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2022.
Who won the Karl-Anthony Towns trade at this point in the season?
With both the Knicks and Timberwolves just a third of the way through their season, it’s hard to tell what type of team they’ll be by the end of the season. But after Thursday’s game, it’s clear that the Knicks have won the blockbuster trade so far.
Towns is having the best season of his career, averaging 25 points, a league-best 14.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and a block on .535/.461/.841 shooting splits. Among the MVP odds and ladders, Towns is a top candidate. The Knicks have had their best start to a season in the last five seasons as well.
The two players Minnesota got, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, have not played like they did in New York. Randle is averaging 20.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on .483/.358/.819 shooting splits. Despite his efficiency being up, the rest of his numbers are down compared to last season.
DiVincenzo is averaging 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and one steal on .362/.325/.778 shooting splits. He was supposed to be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate and is far from that.
Minnesota is still one of the best defensive teams in the league, but their mediocre offense from last season has gotten much worse since the trade. The Knicks are one of the best teams in the league, number two in offensive rating and their defense steadily climbing. They are now 15th in defensive rating but were bottom 10 a few weeks ago. Since their offense is great, they have the fifth-best net rating.
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