The New York Knicks turned the NBA world on its head last week when they acquired Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Many around the league, surprisingly, feel like they lost that trade.
This week news emerged that Towns wasn’t even New York’s first choice.
Apparently, they preferred another big-name player initially.
“Before coming to terms on a blockbuster swap with Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns mere days before the start of training camp, New York made multiple trade runs at Utah’s Walker Kessler to fill its well-chronicled void at center, league sources say,” NBA insider Marc Stein reported.
“It is believed that Utah wanted at least two future first-round picks for Kessler…after the Knicks had exhausted much of their remaining cache of draft picks in the trade with Brooklyn for [Mikal] Bridges.”
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When Kessler was removed from the equation, attention turned to Towns.
“New York’s desire to acquire a front-line center only grew as the offseason wore on after Isaiah Hartenstein left for Oklahoma City in free agency and with Mitchell Robinson recovering slower than expected from ankle surgery. The Knicks have provided no firm timetable on Robinson’s recovery timetable but it is presumed that he is likely sidelined until at least December,” Stein added.
Will the Knicks’ gamble on Towns ultimately pay off? Time will tell.
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
