Can we get Karl-Anthony Towns?

[OldSchoolDude]

While the west is gong to be more competitive this year with both LA teams, Denver, Portland, Houston, and even the Jazz with an outside chance at contending, the T-wolves are looking at no chance now or in the near future.  The Spurs, Mavs and Warriors look to be in the playoff mix next year with the Kings maybe competing for the 8th seed.  The T-Wolves are a perennial lottery team, Jimmy Butler carried them into the playoffs but they traded him for a group that helped them right back onto the lottery.  It seems that Minnesota may be willing to try a hard reboot.   

When the AD trade was starting to look in doubt I remember seeing something about the C's being interested in making a move for Towns.  I think it was basically the same package they were offering for AD.  I'm guessing with the roster influx Danny was hesitant to pull the trigger or at least make a formal offer.  Now that we do have a legit all star point guard and the rest of the league has settled into shape with Kawhi going to the Clippers, a bold move for Towns wold put us at the top of the east and a serious contender.

So what's the package?  I think NO wanted Smart, Tatum, someone for salary maybe Yabusele, the #14 (gone now), and the Memphis pick.  So do we do Smart, Tatum, Yabusele, Memphis pick, our 2020 pick, and two other picks at some point given that AD and Gorge have brought a bunch of picks?

[CelticsElite]

No. Btw his defense is terrible

[GreenlyGreeny]

Players have all of the leverage in this era. If he tells them to trade him or he’ll underperform the next 3 years, they’ll pull the trigger on something like this:

http://tradenba.com/trades/ByKvr6AlH

We head into the year with Kemba/Smart/Hayward/KAT/Kanter with the two Williams, Langford and Ojeleye as our depth. Maybe add vet min guys like Mack and Jerebko? Would we still have an MLE for a big man?

That’s two all-stars under long-term contracts, maybe three all-stars if Hayward returns to form. If not, we go for our third piece in 2021 or maybe the Memphis pick becomes that guy. I like that plan.

[mctyson]

no

[rondofan1255]

Unlikely

[RodyTur10]

I don't know. Things in the NBA are quite unpredictable. Look at Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo or D'Angelo Russell. These guys have had crazy career paths the last couple of seasons, which no one could have predicted.

It's logical to assume that Towns will stay for a couple of seasons in Minnesota, since he just signed a new max contract. However he's on a terrible team that has no shot of making the playoffs, in fact they lost a key player with Derrick Rose. Even worse is that his supporting cast of Wiggins, Covington, Dieng is not only underwhelming, but also under (big) contracts for multiple years. 

Maybe Towns will quickly realize how poor the situation of his team is and that there's no easy way to fix this and decide to ask for a trade instead of wasting multiple prime years of his NBA career. There are a lot of great players in the past, who had their prime on bad teams and therefore never got the praise they deserved. I think it's just a matter of time for that to change. Top players get more influence and won't accept to be playing on a mediocre or bad team if their GM doesn't provide them with the opportunity to have success in the playoffs.

I think the situations of Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker are very interesting to monitor. For the Celtics it would be amazing to be able to trade for Towns.

[shut_the_gate]

Empathy: noun the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

synonyms: affinity with, rapport with, sympathy with, understanding of, sensitivity towards, sensibility to, identification with, awareness of, fellowship with, fellow feeling for, like-mindedness, togetherness, closeness to;"what is really important about learning a language is learning empathy for another culture"

If you were the GM of the Timberwolves would you trade Towns? No?...case closed then.

[Celtics4ever]

The T -wolves are trying to build around Towns so I doubt he is on the trade market.   It is Wiggins that they are shopping.

[obnoxiousmime]

Minnesota is trying to deal Wiggins, since they realize Towns needs a real star next to him. So far, nobody wants to touch that contract.

Let's say they can't deal Wiggins and play poorly again. Towns could ask for a deal but he has very little leverage compared to other disgruntled stars because he is signed until 2024. Threatening to sit out doesn't mean as much if you're signed for five years. The T-Wolves can be like, OK take a break. We'll tank without you, get some top draft picks, and then you can come back when you're ready. It's not like Towns is going to decrease in value that much from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 years remaining. The Wolves hold all the cards.

What that means is, the T-Wolves would certainly ask for even more than what AD or Paul George cost. The question is whether Boston is willing to stomach such a price. We're talking multiple picks, pick swaps, and one or more premium young players.

[RodyTur10]

Empathy: noun the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

synonyms: affinity with, rapport with, sympathy with, understanding of, sensitivity towards, sensibility to, identification with, awareness of, fellowship with, fellow feeling for, like-mindedness, togetherness, closeness to;"what is really important about learning a language is learning empathy for another culture"

If you were the GM of the Timberwolves would you trade Towns? No?...case closed then.

And what if Towns' agent calls up the GM and says that Towns is unhappy and requests to be traded, unless the team can provide him more help to become a playoff team? What do you do then?

I believe the position of the Minnesota to be pretty gloomy. The Butler trades ended up to be terrible for them. How can they get back on track? I don't see it.

Towns already has had 4 years in the league in which he posted All Star numbers, with only one playoff series to show for and that's not on him. In these 4 years he only missed 5(!) games and averaged the following stats:

34.4 (MPG) / 22.3 (PPG) / 11.9 (REB) / 2.6 (ASS) / 1.5 (BLK) on 57%(2FG) / 39%(3FG) / 84%(FT)
 
It would not be surprising if Towns is very jealous at the same generation players below, who either have had way more playoff games and/or are on much better teams to have success:

Simmons, J.Murray, Russell
Brown, Mitchell, Richardson
Antetokounmpo, Tatum, Winslow
Siakam, Sabonis, Porzingis
Embiid, Jokic, Capela, M.Turner

[tazzmaniac]

Empathy: noun the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

synonyms: affinity with, rapport with, sympathy with, understanding of, sensitivity towards, sensibility to, identification with, awareness of, fellowship with, fellow feeling for, like-mindedness, togetherness, closeness to;"what is really important about learning a language is learning empathy for another culture"

If you were the GM of the Timberwolves would you trade Towns? No?...case closed then.

And what if Towns' agent calls up the GM and says that Towns is unhappy and requests to be traded, unless the team can provide him more help to become a playoff team? What do you do then?

I believe the position of the Minnesota to be pretty gloomy. The Butler trades ended up to be terrible for them. How can they get back on track? I don't see it.

Towns already has had 4 years in the league in which he posted All Star numbers, with only one playoff series to show for and that's not on him. In these 4 years he only missed 5(!) games and averaged the following stats:

34.4 (MPG) / 22.3 (PPG) / 11.9 (REB) / 2.6 (ASS) / 1.5 (BLK) on 57%(2FG) / 39%(3FG) / 84%(FT)
 
It would not be surprising if Towns is very jealous at the same generation players below, who either have had way more playoff games and/or are on much better teams to have success:

Simmons, J.Murray, Russell
Brown, Mitchell, Richardson
Antetokounmpo, Tatum, Winslow
Siakam, Sabonis, Porzingis
Embiid, Jokic, Capela, M.Turner

They'd say he signed an extension and is under contract for 5 more years.  The trade for Butler was the reason they made the playoffs the previous season.  Towns puts up numbers but he hasn't been much of a difference maker so far. 

[Fafnir]

No he's untouchable in any trade, he was just locked in on a 5 year deal with no option.