Shams Charania recently shed light on the New York Knicks’ persistent pursuit of Karl-Anthony Towns during an appearance on the Throwbacks podcast, revealing how negotiations have evolved over the past few weeks.
“This pursuit of Karl-Anthony Towns really picked up steam over the last, I think, week, two weeks when the Knicks started calling Minnesota about him,” Charania stated. “Making offers. Making concepts of offers. They were just given hard no’s repeatedly. Way back, even around draft time, July, and into the months of August, a lot of the offers Knicks were conceptually discussing, from what I’m told, were around Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. From Minnesota’s perspective, that was not going to get it done.”
According to Charania, the Knicks initially explored a deal centered on Randle and Robinson, but Minnesota wasn’t interested. However, the Knicks remained persistent, adjusting their proposal to try and meet Minnesota’s demands.
“Over the last week is when finally the inclusion of Donte DiVincenzo was included in this proposal, not Mitchell Robinson. So then you have Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. But still that was a ‘no.’ Minnesota wanted an asset,” Charania explained, highlighting that even with this adjustment, Minnesota was looking for more value in return.
The turning point came when New York added a coveted asset to the trade discussion. “[Friday] night, the Knicks, from what I’m told, finally put that first-round pick from Detroit on the table,” Charania revealed. This development signaled the Knicks’ seriousness in trying to land the Timberwolves’ star, leading to a flurry of activity behind the scenes. “We got wind [Friday] that there were active conversations. Ongoing conversations. I didn’t know until maybe 15-20 minutes before we dropped the news, me and my colleague Jon Krawczynski at The Athletic.”
Charania emphasized the fluid nature of trade talks, noting how quickly things can change. “You never know when it’s a deal that’s this fluid, when you get wind a couple days out it’s active, it’s outgoing.” Even with a foundation in place, the deal faced another hurdle in the form of needing a third team to facilitate the trade.
“The deal for the Knicks over the past several days is finding who that third team is going to be,” Charania added. “They had a few teams lined up. Charlotte became the team for them.” This last piece of the puzzle suggests that while progress has been made, pulling off a blockbuster trade for Towns requires navigating complex negotiations, not just between the Knicks and Timberwolves, but with other teams willing to help make the deal happen.
As the Knicks continue their efforts to bring Towns to New York, it remains to be seen whether all the elements will fall into place for a deal of this magnitude. However, the ongoing talks reflect the team’s commitment to adding another All-Star caliber player to their roster as they aim to build a contender.
Knicks Pursued Trade For Karl-Anthony Towns Since Beginning Of Offseason https://t.co/6VfIp41J3n
— RealGM (@RealGM) October 1, 2024
