Karl Anthony Towns’ New Teammates Turn on Him After Playoff Exit

Just before the Minnesota Timberwolves started their 2024-25 NBA season, president Tim Connelly made big waves, trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and draft pick compensation.

Interestingly enough, both the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves made it all the way to the Conference Finals, before falling short. The Knicks lost in six games to the Indiana Pacers. The Wolves in five games to the OKC Thunder.

As was the case during his time in Minnesota, Towns has been a controversial player in the Big Apple. Some love KAT, others can’t stand him. An immensely talented basketball player, Karl-Anthony Towns’ flaws have been consistent and constant for most of his career.

New York Knicks annoyed with Karl-Anthony Towns

On offense, Karl-Anthony Towns is capable of scoring at every level. He’s one of the best shooting big men in NBA history. On the other side, KAT’s constant whining to officials and inconsistencies on defense have continued to haunt him.

It didn’t take long for New York Knicks fans to grow tired of Karl’s mannerisms and defensive deficiencies. But according to recent reports, his teammates weren’t impressed with what they saw either. James Edwards and Fred Katz outlined the reality in a recent report for The Athletic.

“Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies. Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns’ defensive habits — less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end. Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn’t grasp the importance of the matter.”

The Athletic

In two of the four losses against Indiana, Towns posted plus-minus numbers of -20 and -17. It’s an imperfect statistic on a single-game level, but defensive breakdowns and an inability to stop the Pacers scoring threats were evident for the New York big man.

It’s that effort, or lack thereof, that quickly lends itself to finger pointing. Towns did post a better 24.4 points per game this season, and his .42% three-point shooting was the second highest tally of his career. The effort and efficiency on the defensive end nullifies that performance in the locker room.

Early trouble for Karl-Anthony Towns in New York

It remains to be seen how the Knicks will build moving forward. They came up just short against the Indiana Pacers and won 51 games this season. Karl-Anthony Towns was a part of that, but could also quickly be seen as a problem.

Trading KAT should be priority #1 for the Knicks.

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 1, 2025

A trade of Towns is an eyebrow-raising suggestion from NBA Insider Kevin O’Connor. It’s not that outlandish though. He is a tough player to build around, and there are major questions surrounding his ability to be a major contributor on an NBA Finals caliber team.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau already knew that from his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves though, so he must believe. For Towns to actually be moved, an acquiring team would need to swallow cap hits of $53 and $57 million the next two seasons. He also has a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season, when he’ll be 32 years old.

Related: Orlando Magic Could Target Minnesota Timberwolves Guard

These are the warts New York was going to take on with Towns when moving Randle and DiVincenzo. Minnesota has decisions to make on the players they brought in, but they are substantially less financially and motivationally impactful than what Towns has served up for the Knicks.