The Knicks Acquire KAT: A Trade Evaluation and Grade

 

Photo From Clutch Points 

With less than a month until the beginning of the 2024-2025 NBA season, I thought all major offseason moves were completed. Then, arguably the biggest trade of the offseason was announced. Multiple sources reported yesterday that the New York Knicks are sending Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a future first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns.

As a Knicks fan, I was confused when I heard the news, as I am still unsure if this was a necessary trade for the team. I’m sharing my positive and negative takeaways from the trade and will be grading it from the Knicks' perspective.

Positive Takeaways:

1. Adding Karl-Anthony Towns: Let’s start with the obvious: adding Karl-Anthony Towns to the roster is an upgrade for the Knicks. Entering his 10th season, KAT has cemented himself as one of the best offensive big men in the game. As a 7’0 center, KAT is a perfect example of a modern-day big man who can stretch the floor with his versatile scoring ability. KAT made his fourth All-Star appearance last year, averaging 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 50.4% from the field and 41.6% from beyond the arc.

2. The Knicks Needed Another Center: Before this trade, the Knicks were thin at the center position, to say the least. Mitchell Robinson had ankle surgery back in May, and he is not expected back until December or January. On top of that, the Knicks lost Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency this offseason. That left the Knicks with Jericho Sims and second-round pick Ariel Hukporti as the only other centers on the roster.

3. Getting Rid of Julius Randle: I will preface this by saying I understand and recognize that Julius Randle is a talented basketball player and has done a tremendous amount for the Knicks since joining the team in 2019, he has been an instrumental factor in getting the Knicks to the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. With all that being said, I have two huge problems with Julius. 1) His style of play is not in line with how the game is evolving. Julius constantly interrupts game flow by trying to isolate his defender and play one vs. one. This often leads to a problem if he is on the perimeter; if a second defender traps him, Julius does not have the ball-handling skills to escape and usually turns the ball over. 2) Randle has a terrible attitude. Randle is constantly whining to refs when he does not get calls. I also noticed when he was sidelined during the playoffs last year and the camera would pan to him, he looked mad to be at the game and did not seem to show any support to his teammates. I don’t think Julius was a locker room guy by any means.

4. Reunion Between Tom Thibodeau and Karl-Anthony Towns: Maybe I am off here, but I have to assume Thibs played a huge role in getting KAT to New York. Thibs coached KAT for three seasons (2016-2019) in Minnesota. Usually, when a coach and player reunite with each other, they left on good terms and want to improve on where they left off. I think the fact that Thibs and KAT are familiar with each other is going to make this transition much easier for KAT.

Negative Takeaways:

1. Losing Donte DiVincenzo: Although short-lived, Donte was awesome in his one season as a member of the New York Knicks. Donte put up a career-high 15.5 points per game, shooting 40% from beyond the arc. Donte made 283 threes during the regular season last year, which was third in the league. When injuries started piling up for the Knicks in the postseason, Donte stepped up even more, averaging 17.9 points on 42.5% shooting from deep. Donte was also a perfect fit for a Thibs defensive scheme. Last year, Donte wrapped up the season with 107 steals and 241 deflections, which ranked ninth and fourth in the league, respectively. In an era where you need a 3 & D player on your team, the Knicks just lost a great one.

2. Giving Up Too Many Assets: I think the Knicks gave up too much. Let’s start by comparing KAT and Randle’s numbers. I am going to be using statistics starting from 2019, the year Randle joined the Knicks. In the last five seasons, KAT has averaged 23.7 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 50.44% from the field and 39.82% from 3. In that same period, Randle put up 22.5 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting 45.2% from the field and 32.9% from 3. Although the stats are similar, KAT demonstrates greater efficiency. However, is his efficiency significant enough to justify trading away an extremely valuable 3 & D player along with a future first-round pick? 

3. Karl-Anthony Towns Injury History: KAT has been an injury-prone player over the last five seasons. The injuries started to occur during the 2019-2020 shortened season, where KAT played in only 35 of the 65 games that season due to knee injuries. The following season, KAT missed 32 games due to wrist injuries. In the 2022-2023 season, KAT missed 53 games due to continuous calf injuries. Last year, he missed 20 games with knee issues. Thibs is known to play his starters a lot of minutes and will need to be mindful of KAT’s injury history heading into this season.

4. Depletes Our Depth: Donte would have been our sixth man. With him gone and Mitch out until the winter, the starting five for New York will most likely be Jalen Brunson at the one, Josh Hart at the two, Mikal Bridges at the three, OG Anunoby at the four, and KAT playing the five. That does not leave us with too many established players coming off the bench. Miles McBride is probably the most experienced bench player we have, but at 6'1, he can really only play the point, and every Knicks fan knows Thibs will be playing Brunson as often as possible. The Knicks did add Cameron Payne on a one-year veteran's minimum, and rookie Tyler Kolek showed some flashes in the summer league, but I would not count on these guys to add a ton of value off the bench, at least not at the beginning of the season.

My Grade For This Trade: C+

Ultimately, I am giving this trade a C+ for the Knicks. This is a high-risk, reward type of trade. The Knicks certainly gambled a bit here; only time will tell if it paid off.

What grade would you give the Knicks? Comment below.