Whoa, Karl-Anthony Towns "Frustrated", Possibly To Be In Trade Talks

[Phantom255x]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2776785-karl-anthony-towns-timberwolves-reportedly-not-in-a-good-place-internally?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves Reportedly 'Not in a Good Place Internally'

Karl-Anthony Towns' relationship with the Minnesota Timberwolves has reportedly grown icy.

Appearing on Friday's episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN.com's Zach Lowe said Towns and the Timberwolves are "not in a good place internally."

ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, who joined Lowe for a lengthy conversation, later posited it would not be unheard of if Towns' name eventually surfaced in trade discussions.

"I don't think Anthony Davis is going anywhere any time soon," Windhorst said. "But Karl Towns...now that might be a different story."

Still, it's important to note there are no indications to this point that Towns could be on the move in the near future. Rather, this is informed speculation from a pair of league insiders who are looped in on fault lines that have surfaced within the organization. 

While the Timberwolves finished last season 47-35 and booked the franchise's first playoff spot since 2004, it wasn't all pretty.

Not only did Towns reportedly grow disgruntled, but 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson said in March that Andrew Wiggins "whispered to teammates" that he was unhappy because he had become the Timberwolves' third option behind Towns and Jimmy Butler.

That said, Wiggins' usage rate (23.4) clocked in ahead of Towns' (22.9) and just behind Butler's (24.9) as he averaged 17.7 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field, including 33.1 percent on three-pointers.

Barring a shakeup this summer, the Timberwolves figure to run it back next season with the same core pieces since they already have $110 million in guaranteed salaries on their balance sheet for the 2018-19 campaign.

QUICK DANNY! NADER + A 2020 2ND ROUNDER FOR KAT!!! 

Anyways, this is a pretty interesting development. I don't think KAT actually gets traded, but there might be some tension in Minnesota regardless. As absurd as it sounds considering it is a LOADED Western Conference... you kind of feel Minnesota underachieved a bit, especially given the expectations after the Butler trade.

Either way, I don't think Boston makes an offer. What teams may be interested though *if* the Wolves do take trade calls? Lakers? Spurs?

[tarheelsxxiii]

It'd be aweso.e to have a star in the mid to low 20s in usage.  We have too much top end talent for 1 guy to be above a 30

[CelticsElite]

If the guy played even average defense I’d be highly interested

[Phantom255x]

If the guy played even average defense I’d be highly interested

Yeah, and during the Rockets series, he honestly played "soft" in like 4 of the 5 games. He underwhelmed that series.

What makes it a little interesting is that, unlike Davis, matching salaries is not an issue at all (he's still under rookie contract).

But yeah obviously MIN will ask for a ton, which is why I assume Ainge just stares at the rumor but doesn't really make an offer (doesn't think it's worth it).

I mean, I'm hearing some Suns and Kings fans argue that they should trade their #1 or #2 for him. Yeah we ain't beating those kind of offers 

[sdceltsfan]

Smart S&T, Morris, SAC pick, Boston 2018, LAC pick for KAT

[Phantom255x]

Smart S&T, Morris, SAC pick, Boston 2018, LAC pick for KAT

[coco]

or we can Baynes for a quarter of the price.

[designmao]

Phoenix's 1st pick for KAT. Who says no?

[Who]

Team would probably be happier if Wiggins was removed. Take his shot attempts away and Towns would have a bigger role. Replace Wiggins with someone who is more capable of effecting games outside of their own scoring ability.

[Green-18]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2776785-karl-anthony-towns-timberwolves-reportedly-not-in-a-good-place-internally?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves Reportedly 'Not in a Good Place Internally'

Karl-Anthony Towns' relationship with the Minnesota Timberwolves has reportedly grown icy.

Appearing on Friday's episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN.com's Zach Lowe said Towns and the Timberwolves are "not in a good place internally."

ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, who joined Lowe for a lengthy conversation, later posited it would not be unheard of if Towns' name eventually surfaced in trade discussions.

"I don't think Anthony Davis is going anywhere any time soon," Windhorst said. "But Karl Towns...now that might be a different story."

Still, it's important to note there are no indications to this point that Towns could be on the move in the near future. Rather, this is informed speculation from a pair of league insiders who are looped in on fault lines that have surfaced within the organization. 

While the Timberwolves finished last season 47-35 and booked the franchise's first playoff spot since 2004, it wasn't all pretty.

Not only did Towns reportedly grow disgruntled, but 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson said in March that Andrew Wiggins "whispered to teammates" that he was unhappy because he had become the Timberwolves' third option behind Towns and Jimmy Butler.

That said, Wiggins' usage rate (23.4) clocked in ahead of Towns' (22.9) and just behind Butler's (24.9) as he averaged 17.7 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field, including 33.1 percent on three-pointers.

Barring a shakeup this summer, the Timberwolves figure to run it back next season with the same core pieces since they already have $110 million in guaranteed salaries on their balance sheet for the 2018-19 campaign.

QUICK DANNY! NADER + A 2020 2ND ROUNDER FOR KAT!!! 

Anyways, this is a pretty interesting development. I don't think KAT actually gets traded, but there might be some tension in Minnesota regardless. As absurd as it sounds considering it is a LOADED Western Conference... you kind of feel Minnesota underachieved a bit, especially given the expectations after the Butler trade.

Either way, I don't think Boston makes an offer. What teams may be interested though *if* the Wolves do take trade calls? Lakers? Spurs?

As an NBA fan I hate these types of stories.  I prefer that young superstars try to build something with the teams that drafted them.  It sounds like Wiggins has been an issue for a while now.  He's delusional to think that he should be anything higher than a "3rd option" in Minnesota.  KAT has improved his efficiency every season while Wiggins has remained stuck in mediocrity. 

Towns needs to become a better defender but I'd like to see Towns and Butler have another season together.  Wiggins should be the odd man out.

[byennie]

In a heartbeat you make a major offer for Towns.

Would I center a franchise around him from scratch? Yeah maybe some question marks. But adding him to this team? All day every day.

We're talking about a guy who's team won 47 games and was +13 points better when he was on the court (per 100).

He shot 55/42/86 as a center. His offensive/ defensive ratings were 127/107.

He makes under $7M.

He's 22 years old.

The problem in MIN is Wiggins, hands down, not Towns.

The dilemma is that they would clearly want Brown or Tatum, and logically with Hayward coming back it would balance the roster to give in. But Boston isn't trading either of those guys.

SAC19, MEM19, LAC19, BOS18, Rozier, Baynes (salary) would be a homerun for us IMO.

[Beat LA]

If the guy played even average defense I’d be highly interested

Yeah, and during the Rockets series, he honestly played "soft" in like 4 of the 5 games. He underwhelmed that series.

I couldn't agree more. Quick, let's steal Justin Patton while they're squabbling . Lol at Thibs, btw.

[Phantom255x]

Team would probably be happier if Wiggins was removed. Take his shot attempts away and Towns would have a bigger role. Replace Wiggins with someone who is more capable of effecting games outside of their own scoring ability.

Yeah, Wiggins seems to be the problem there.

I heard someone suggest Minnesota should trade him back to Cleveland in return for Love 

Boy that would be something.

[CelticsElite]

In a heartbeat you make a major offer for Towns.

Would I center a franchise around him from scratch? Yeah maybe some question marks. But adding him to this team? All day every day.

We're talking about a guy who's team won 47 games and was +13 points better when he was on the court (per 100).

He shot 55/42/86 as a center. His offensive/ defensive ratings were 127/107.

He makes under $7M.

He's 22 years old.

The problem in MIN is Wiggins, hands down, not Towns.

The dilemma is that they would clearly want Brown or Tatum, and logically with Hayward coming back it would balance the roster to give in. But Boston isn't trading either of those guys.

SAC19, MEM19, LAC19, BOS18, Rozier, Baynes (salary) would be a homerun for us IMO.

do you just give them kyrie  and a pick? To make it simpler on both sides?

[bogg]

Oof. Towns is good, but he needs to learn how to actually play. The money's easy to match, but he's not going to want to spend a year or two as Horford's backup while reprogramming his game, and Al's basically the exact guy you'd want to keep around to teach Towns winning plays over piling up stats. It's tough to come up with a good trade though - Rozier and picks doesn't seem like it'd be enough for Minnesota, and as crazy as it feels to say this after this playoff run I don't see how can turn around and trade either of Brown or Tatum for a big that doesn't defend. On the other end of the spectrum there's Kyrie and a contract for Towns and Teague, but I definitely don't want to pay Teague $19 million for the next two seasons and it would seriously hamper your ability to pay Towns - I also don't really want to pay (possibly more than) half the cap for both Horford and Towns in the first year of KATs deal.

That's a tough one, but I'd love to see what Stevens could do with him.