With about two months left before training camp begins, most NBA teams have essentially drawn up a rough draft of what your list will look like this season. For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the only big question that remains is whether Karl-Anthony Towns will be traded.
For several weeks now, the perception has been that Towns will remain with the team at least through the 2023-24 season. The Timberwolves have shown no desire to get rid of him, as they seem intent on getting most of the first-year roster back from Rudy Gobert’s experiment.
A smart move, considering how much consistency matters when building an NBA champion. In addition to its desire to keep Towns around, it was recently reported that Minnesota has also set a particularly high price for other teams asking about trading him.
The Timberwolves want a big return for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Fred Katz of Atletico wrote about offseason trade rumors about the New York Knicks (subscription required). In his article, Katz revealed that he had spoken to league sources who informed him that the Timberwolves “have put a very high price on Towns.”
This report should come as no surprise to those who follow recent NBA trade dealings. After the summer of 2022, the trading packages for top-level stars have become increasingly lucrative. Players like Rudy Gobert and Dejounte Murray got big returns from their new teams last offseason that included multiple first-round picks.
Hopefully Minnesota will set a similarly high price tag for any team that tries to trade for Karl-Anthony Towns. If there was ever a scenario where the Timberwolves sent out KAT, they would be sure to receive more than enough compensation in return.
Katz also confirmed that Wolves currently have no intention of trading Towns. “It’s not like the Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to take down their team,” Katz said. This makes it clearer that General Manager Tim Connelly is betting on the talent of his current group.
Overall, this report should be a great comfort to Timberwolves fans. All reliable sources reporting on the Karl-Anthony Towns situation have reiterated that the team is not looking to trade him. But even if that changes, they won’t budge on their high asking price. By all accounts, Minnesota should head into next season with its current roster intact.
