Thunderclap this night in the NBA! The Athletic has in fact revealed the outlines of a large-scale exchange between Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle, since the first is sent to New York against the second, who is heading to Minnesota!
On paper, the Wolves hit hard since in addition to recovering Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo is included in the transaction, as well as a first round of the 2025 Draft as a bonus, certainly protected in the Top 13!
It must be believed that New York was really inclined to part with Julius Randle, who had been out of action since January due to a shoulder injury and had surgery in April, and that KAT was the priority to replace him. His name has always been circulating at the Knicks, where he will find Tom Thibodeau, his former coach at the Wolves. No doubt the unavailability of Mitchell Robinson and the departure of Isaiah Hartenstein pushed the leaders to bet everything on an All-Star capable of playing pivot.
If both players are All-Stars, Karl-Anthony Towns showed his ability to adapt by playing at positions 5 then 4 following the arrival of Rudy Gobert, and he showed consistency in a conference at the highest level. noted. On the other hand, Julius Randle’s rating has fallen on the market, particularly due to his repeated injuries.
A Randle-Gobert tandem that promises!
Where the deal may seem unbalanced, however, is the presence of a first round of Draft (protected Top-13 in 2025) and especially of Donte DiVincenzo in the exchange, while the rear comes out of a playoff campaign, and even a season, quite breathtaking with the Knicks. At the same time, it was undoubtedly the condition to push Minnesota to accept.
In 2024, the Knicks have achieved great things without their presumed leader and Tom Thibodeau will have the opportunity to re-articulate his five majors around the Brunson-Towns axis to which the Bridges-Hart-Anunoby trio will be added. We also note that the Villanova Connection loses one of its members with the departure of Donte DiVincenzo.
The Hornets get involved in the exchange
The future seems less obvious for Minnesota, due to uncertainties over Randle’s physique, but also DiVincenzo’s role, undoubtedly as Anthony Edwards’ understudy. We will therefore closely follow the first statements from the Wolves side and the way in which Chris Finch will this time try to associate Julius Randle with Rudy Gobert in the paint. A priori, they are compatible.
Finally, note that this is in fact a three-team exchange since the Hornets intervened to make the deal happen: for their helping hand, they receive cash, compensation via the Draft and DaQuan Jeffries who arrives from the Knicks.
