Teams around the NBA are constantly monitoring superstars on lottery teams in case they become disgruntled and request a change of scenery. One player whose situation has drawn some attention in that regard is Karl-Anthony Towns, whose Timberwolves have made the postseason just once since he was drafted in 2015.
However, speaking to reporters this week, Towns said that he’d like to follow in the footsteps of players like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, who spent their entire NBA careers with a single franchise.
“I hope to have a career like Kobe, with one team,” Towns said, per Shahbaz Khan of of Timberwolves.com. “Like Tim and Kobe, where it’s one team and try to bring as many championships as possible.”
Towns, who averaged 24.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in 50 contests (33.8 MPG) in 2020/21, acknowledged that there have been plenty of “rocky” patches during his six years in Minnesota, both on and off the court. However, he gave no indication that he’d like to move on from the team that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft.
“I just really am happy that I’m able to still be here playing for this amazing city and state and be able to stay here and affect change in the community,” Towns said. “I’m just so happy that I’ve been given a chance to play here in Minnesota all these years.”
Towns still has three guaranteed years on his maximum-salary deal beyond 2020/21. As such, president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas still has some time to work on building a team capable of contending before the 25-year-old has to make a decision on his next contract. However, with the Wolves set to lose their first-round pick either in 2021 (top-three protected) or 2022 (unprotected), Rosas will have to get creative as he considers possible avenues to upgrade the roster.
Blazers are 6th seed
Lakers are 7th seed
Warriors have 2 First round picks to deal for good players
It’s highly unlikely Wolves will make playoffs next 3 seasons
You do realize that they reset the records each year, right? The Blazers are not the 6 seed next year yet. LeBron and Curry will be one year older. Even MJ and Kobe started slowing down in their late 30s. LeBron is an all time great, but he won’t beat Father Time.
Minnesota started clicking toward the end of the year. As long as Beasley doesn’t get shivved in the shower, they should be fine next year.
As long as DLo is on the roster and playing significant minutes for MINN you can stick a fork in them
If he were to want out, he’d look good in Boston. As much as I like Jaylen Brown, I’d have a deal centered around him for KAT in a minute.
To Boston: KAT
ToMinnesota: Brown, Romeo, Pritchard & picks
Not close to enough compensation unless the take dlo as well. Browns fit would be similar to his fit with Boston. Only way this works is how far in future picks are and if they would take dlo. Otherwise I keep him and build around towns and edwards
I think there’s a better chance they lose the pick to Golden State.
KAT would be a disaster in Boston. Have you never seen him play? He’s the exact opposite of Brown, who is smart, works extremely hard, plays great defense, doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight with Tatum, and never has been in the news for the wrong reasons.
Uhhh, what? KAT is an elite scorer who is a matchup problem almost every time he steps on the court. Pretty sure every team in the league would benefit from having him in the rotation.
Y’all have to be high if you think we dealing brown for KAT brown has way more potential than KAT Fr
KAT is better than any player BOS has had since Larry Bird, so go figure if anyone would rather have average JB over the superstar that is KAT, right?
Wow, that’s some disrespect for KG you have there. Also, Tatum is better than KAT right now.
The wolves seem like they’re finally on the way up. The Butler deal killed them in my opinion as a mismatch of generations. Hopefully they can draft well the next couple of years to complement Edwards and Towns.
I don’t think the problem was a mismatch in generations, I think the problem was just a mismatch in personalities. The whole LeBron/Wade/Bosh Miami team has convinced people that winning teams have to be the same age and it is just not true. Look at the Lakers. LeBron is 10 years older than AD and they did fine last year.
The Multiple Top-10 players method works tho. LBJ/Wade. Steph/KD. Shaq/Kobe. MJ/Pippen.
It’s great to see Towns saying all the right things. That just increases his value as a player. Maybe they give this squad a run next year and then reassess the fit?
Should the wolves keep their top three pick and bring in a fantastic young player, things’ll be even brighter in the land of lakes.
If Wolves had lottery luck, they would be a better team than Pelicans and Grizzlies next year
It’s easier to make good trades
Had lottery luck??? They’ve gotten the #1 pick twice in the past 6 years. If anything they shouldn’t be rewarded more top picks since they don’t create anything with them
They got the #1’s because they had the HIGHEST odds of getting them………They almost NEVER have drafted higher than their odds slot…….If anything they have gotten SCREWED , never moving up from where the odds put them…They literally have usually drafted lower than they deserved , almost 90% of the time.
Of the two #1’s you mention , which one hasn’t panned out?? Towns is pretty good and Edwards got better as the year went on this last year…..Hard to call those two disappointments.
Herbers fired up!— too late for this edition though.
Short offseason coming up, save it.
What screwed them was drafting Rubio & Flynn(no longer in the league) over Curry!
Just not the Timberwolves, right?
One team*
*After he’s dealt from Minnesota
Unfortunately, the statements “I want to have a career like Kobe” and “I want to be with the Timberwolves for my entire career” are mutually exclusive.
Yup. Slippery slope…
Yes… Be a boyscout and lose year after year. I’ve grown to respect him since he gave Embiid them hands a season ago and of course he’s gone through alot due to losing loved ones. But come on KAT. Minny ain’t it kid. You are too talented to waste your prime there, ask KG about it…
KAT hasn’t done squat yet. Remember Jimmy was talking about him too. Players who talk and have never done anything but get paid. Long list of this. How about you STFU till you actually win a playoff series. No wait till you make the playoffs. No wait till you no longer a lottery team. Estas Quemao
Hearing KAT, you’d think he wasn’t around the past 5 years. Not the longest tenured player on the team and its undisputed leader. I don’t judge young players on championships, but it’s fair to expect a supposed star to at least get his team to the playoffs, at least some of the time, or, if not, own it. The only time KAT’s team made the playoffs, he helped get the HC fired.
Any team that has Andrew “I don’t care about basketball” Wiggins as the second best player has no chance at being successful. Draymond and Steph couldn’t even drag him to the playoffs but Kat and Butler were able to do it. Now that he’s a full season and a half removed and they found a soon to be superstar in Edwards plus the worst owner in NBA history is finally on his way out they are very close to finally turning it around. If they get really lucky and get to pick in the top 3 and then they pick the right player (like they did with Ant) again then all of a sudden Kat-Beasley-D-lo become the 3rd, 4th, and 5th best players at least until Jaden McDaniels starts passing them up during the 2022-23 season. They’re Comin!!!!