The Minnesota Timberwolves are dealing with a lot of things right now. Owner Glen Taylor is in the midst of transitioning control of the team to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, who purchased the Timberwolves and Lynx for $1.5 billion. Minnesota also just fired President of Basketball Operations, Gersson Rosas, days before training camp because he reportedly was in charge of a toxic front office and had a relationship with a female employee of the team despite being married.
Because of the recent dysfunction, some speculated about the future of Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota. The 25-year-old is already a two-time All-Star and could easily request a trade and nobody would fault him for it. After all, Towns has only been to the playoffs once in his six-year career with the Timberwolves. In five of those six seasons, Minnesota finished with a losing record.
Towns, though, isn’t thinking about demanding a trade, according to John Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Karl-Anthony Towns has weathered a lot of drama in his six years here. The Jimmy Butler situation. He’s had a bunch of guys who have been president of basketball operations. He’s had a bunch of head coaches…You’ve seen stars ask out in other places,” Krawczynski continued.
“I think if he fired that bullet, I don’t think many people would disagree. It’s been a mess here…Now so far, there are no indications that he’s ready to go that route. I know the team has engaged directly with him and his representation over the last 24 hours…They’ve engaged with every player to try to send a new message and get everyone on board and let them know what they’re thinking and doing.”
Could a Karl-Anthony Towns trade request be the next shoe to drop in Minnesota?
🔊 @JonKrawczynski tells @talkhoops & @hoopscritic why he doesn’t believe that’s the case right now. #RaisedByWolves pic.twitter.com/gsbqdo3JuA
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 23, 2021
Towns Rightly Shouldn’t Want Out…At Least Not Yet
While Towns has to be frustrated about the lack of winning he’s experienced thus far in his NBA career, now isn’t the time to want to be traded. On paper this season, he will be equipped with arguably the best supporting cast of his career. Rosas made a flurry of moves this offseason, led by the acquisitions of Patrick Beverley and Taurean Prince. Beverley is going to add swagger and playoff experience to a team that has barely any while Prince will be a solid bench piece.
Former All-Star D’Angelo Russell looks like he’ll be healthy and Anthony Edwards has a chip on his shoulder after losing the Rookie of the Year to LaMelo Ball last year. Jaden McDaniels, 20, showed promise in his rookie campaign. Don’t forget about Malik Beasley, who’s coming off back-to-back seasons of averaging more than 19 points per game.
I’m not trying to make Minnesota seem like they’re the Brooklyn Nets. However, Minnesota looks like they can fight for a play-in spot, which would be a nice stepping stone for years to come. If things don’t progress this season, then Towns could have some conversations with the front office.
[pickup_prop id=”12535″]
New Ownership Coming
Another reason why Towns shouldn’t want to give up on Minnesota yet is new ownership. Lore and Rodriguez aren’t the type of people that are coming in just to say they own a team. They want to win. After Rodriguez lost the New York Mets ownership bid, he said he would’ve significantly raised their payroll. “I thought that the Mets did—and do—have an opportunity to be one of the great franchises around the world, with an incredible fan base and we were really excited to take payroll from like $150 [million] to $225 [million] and bring a championship back to the city of New York,” Rodriguez said last October.
While the NBA has a salary cap of $112.414 million this season, it has to be encouraging for Towns to know the new owners won’t be afraid to spend money on star free agents. All it might take is one superstar to come to the Twin Cities to team up with Towns and Edwards to make Minnesota a consistent playoff team.
Ben Simmons Still Out There
Even if Lore and Rodriguez can’t initially bring in stars, Ben Simmons is still available. He is one of the elite defensive players in the game and is willing to play anywhere but Philadelphia.
Minnesota has a point guard in Russell that Philadelphia would be interested in so a trade could happen. If Simmons comes to the Timberwolves, Minnesota instantly becomes at least a seven or eight seed. If Towns leaves, he won’t get to see if this possibility happens. With the start of training camp looming, it’s best if Towns stays put to see if this team can surprise some people.
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @ptsportstalk
Follow Ben Fadden on Twitter @ben_fadden
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
