While the Minnesota Timberwolves are the defending finalists in the Western Conference, they sacrificed Karl-Anthony Towns (29) mainly for financial reasons. But the sporting consequences, more than a month into the season, can now be analysed, and the balance sheet is anything but positive.
“Y’all wanna talk to me? (Yes.) What you wanna know, why we’re trash?” These were the words of a certain Anthony Edwards at the start of the press conference following the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ defeat by the Kings, their fourth in a row and seventh in the last nine games. They are now 12th in the always formidable Western Conference, with eight wins and 10 losses.
Yet this team is coming off a season of incredible quality. They were mocked in the summer of 2022 for taking a huge risk by sacrificing a number of draft picks to bring back Rudy Gobert. Two years later, the result was a conference final, the franchise’s first in 20 years and the Kevin Garnett era. All of which augurs well for the future.
But in the NBA, business is business. And there was a big surprise just a month before the start of the season when the famous Shams Charania, now the leading NBA insider, revealed the trade of the player absolutely adored by the whole franchise, and indeed the whole of Minneapolis: Karl-Anthony Towns, who headed to New York to play for the Knicks.
A trade that inevitably caused astonishment. Why on earth would a team like Minnesota, which had methodically built its team to aim for the top and was close to achieving it, transfer its No. 2, who was also its emblem, having been drafted No. 1 in 2015 and been loyal to the team, the city and the community ever since? The reason given was mainly financial.
Towns’ salary, already substantial, was set to rise to over 60 million in two years’ time. So, by acquiring Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the Wolves were able to make a nice saving, ensuring they stayed under the famous ‘second apron’ (and thus avoided excessive penalties) as well as leaving themselves room to re-sign Naz Reid, widely considered to be the future of the franchise – along with Edwards, of course.
All very simple calculations, but has the sporting dimension even been considered? To lose Towns is to lose an incredible talent, unique even in today’s NBA, where the three-pointer reigns supreme. And while his defensive weaknesses are well known, the Wolves teamed him up with Gobert to mitigate this. All of which was a huge risk taken in 2022, and shattered into a thousand pieces just as it was beginning to bear fruit in just two seasons. Much to the dismay of the player himself…
Unfortunately, the sporting consequences of this trade are starting to show. After a month and 18 games, we can make an initial assessment, and it’s not a pretty one. With the best defensive rating last season, the Wolves have slipped to 12th place (from 108.4 to 112.1), which is a shame. Three-point success fell by 1.7%, even though their number of turnovers per game rose by 2.5! This inconsistency shows that the attack is in trouble, with the offensive rating down by 1.6 points.
Those are the statistics but there’s also the impression on the pitch. And clearly, now that Edwards is No. 1 without a true lieutenant of Towns’ calibre, everything depends on him. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. Admittedly, the indicators are good for him personally, as his averages are up. What’s more, he’s shown great consistency, with just one game under 20 points this season. All this without forgetting to put on a show.
The problem is that things are not going well collectively. The new recruits have not blended in at all with Chris Finch’s system of play. Randle doesn’t offer the same guarantees and his pairing with Gobert, tested several times, isn’t working. As for DiVincenzo – who looked like a bargain on paper after an exciting season with the Knicks – now that he has a free shot off the bench, he is light years away from his supposed level.
As if that wasn’t enough, the situation behind the scenes is also tense. Since the start of the year, a dispute has pitted owner Glen Taylor against a group of supposed buyers led by Marc Lore and former MLB star Alex Rodriguez.
In simple terms, the former had put the franchise up for sale (and the Lynx’s WNBA franchise at the same time), while the latter two wanted to buy it and made an offer with an option that expired according to Taylor (who no longer wishes to sell) or not according to Lore/Rodriguez. The case is currently under arbitration, and a verdict could be handed down shortly.
Of course, there are still reasons to believe that the season can still produce a quality run. Edwards is the main man, rookie Rob Dillingham has shown tremendous promise, Naz Reid remains a fine weapon off the bench, Jaden McDaniels remains a fearsome defender, and of course, with 64 games still to play, Minnesota can more than make up for lost time.
But with their franchise player saying after their defeat – “We’re in our bubbles and we’re drifting apart. It makes sense, you can see it, I can see it, the team can see it, the coaches can see it. The fans boo us. It’s crazy. We’re getting booed in our own arena.” – it’s starting to add up.
A worrying sporting situation, distortions in the dressing room, disenchantment with the fans, a battle for ownership of the franchise behind the scenes – it’s an explosive cocktail. Enough to cut heads off?
From December 15th, Randle and DiVincenzo will be eligible for transfer. Naturally, the former is the obvious target, guilty of not having been able to replace KAT, who is too important in the hearts of the fans anyway. But in exchange for what? Not a big player with a big contract, that wouldn’t make any sense. Another strong option to complement Gobert? We’re still looking for an obvious name. The second should be retained, but a major problem has not been addressed.
That problem is quite simply the Western Conference itself. There are 12 teams clearly aiming for the playoffs (the Blazers, Jazz and Pelicans, for various reasons, are no threat), and at the moment, the Wolves are the worst of those 12 teams. This competition could lead the board, the management, the front office, whatever, to make some drastic decisions.
Like sacking their coach, for example. This would of course be dramatic in sporting terms, but as I said earlier, business is business, and the decision taken at the end of September has no doubt had consequences for some time to come.
For the time being, the Karl-Anthony Towns trade has been one hell of a failure. It remains to be seen whether that will still be the case at the end of the season.