Teams around the NBA have been keeping an eye on the Timberwolves this season to see how Karl-Anthony Towns is coping with another sub-.500 season, but president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas made it clear in a conversation with ESPN’s Eric Woodyard that those clubs won’t get a chance to trade for the star big man this winter.
“Karl-Anthony Towns is as untouchable as they come,” Rosas told Woodyard. “He’s the best player on our team and he’s the guy we’re building around. Everything we do is to help him become the best player and to help us become the best team we can be. He’s a special talent that we’re going to do anything possible to help him achieve his highest potential.”
Rosas’ comments don’t come as a surprise. The opportunity to build around Towns was likely a major reason why he agreed to become the head of basketball operations in Minnesota last spring after nearly two decades in Houston.
Towns is in the first season of a five-year, maximum-salary contract, so there’s no reason for the Timberwolves to consider a move involving the former No. 1 overall pick unless he explicitly asks for one — even then, he’d have limited leverage to force the team’s hand, since he can’t reach the open market until 2024.
Although the Wolves have had a disappointing season so far, with their 15-29 record placing them in a tie for 13th in the West, Towns recently dismissed the idea that he’s unhappy in Minnesota, referring to the trade speculation surrounding him as “nonsense.”
For now, Rosas and the Wolves’ front office are expected to continue seeking ways to upgrade Towns’ supporting cast, with a long-term answer at point guard among the most pressing items on the club’s wish list.
“We’ve been very aggressive. We’ve been very thorough in terms of any opportunities to help our team, and that’ll be a continual process,” Rosas told ESPN. “So for us, we’re gonna be very active and we’re going to look at any opportunity that can present itself and make sure that if there’s a deal that we can do to improve our team, we’re going to take advantage of those opportunities.”
Until he’s not! The Pelicans said the same thing about AD. Stay tuned!
AD was traded with one year left on his deal. Towns has has 4 years left. Totally different. Stay tuned three years from now.
AD was a leaving them for nothing this summer while towns has 4 years left not that same thing
Yup. Not apples to apples. It also is a right now statement, a year from now there could be a new GM, coach, injury and he gets dealt.
AD forced his way out more or less. If KD was like I’m out of here in a yr I’m going to Golden State, Thunder would have tried to trade him.
Perhaps, but they may have also kept him for that year in an attempt to win a Larry O’Brien Trophy. In fact, that is about ten times more likely. Much as the Cavs almost certainly would not have traded LeBron in 2009 had he said he was leaving the next year.
Teams deal players all the time if they have no shot at resigning them. The GMs that let them walk for nothing end up in the hot seat. Very few times does a team lose an elite player and then recoup one shortly thereafter. Thunder did it via trade. Rest of the time, losing marquee guys for nothing gets you fired.
Who cares about a FA walking later when you have a chance to win a title?
The NBA system is designed to provide roughly 8 years of control for a team for any 1st round pick that the team considers a max player. In the long history of the current system, I can’t think of even 5 such guys that were dealt before the last non-option year of the RSC extension. All with special circumstances (in most instances, at least one of those circumstances was stupidity). Rosas is merely saying he isn’t an idiot.
KAT got his money, now he will force his way out! Minnesota is a dumpster fire, no free agent(high profile, anyway)will sign there, so they will be forced to trade valuable draft picks to acquire talent. As a Celtic’s fan, I love the idea of him in Boston!
Boston receives: KAT and Robert Covington
Minnesota receives: Hayward, Tatum, Williams and the Memphis pick as well as Boston’s first rounder in ’20 and ’21. Done deal!