Nickeil Alexander-Walker Rumors

Wolves Notes: Ownership Battle, Gobert, Alexander-Walker, DiVincenzo

April 4th, 2025 at 12:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The nearly year-long battle that Glen Taylor waged to keep control of the Timberwolves gave Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez more time to improve their financial position, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Taylor gave up that fight this week and reportedly won’t appeal an arbitration case that was decided in favor of the new owners.

As Krawczynski writes, Lore and Rodriguez were able to secure former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg as a minority investor and set aside $950MM in an escrow account. Although they still need formal approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, having that much cash on hand takes away any financial concerns about their ability to operate the team.

Sources tell Krawczynski that the long-running dispute has ended any plans of having Taylor remain as a limited partner after the sale is finalized. Taylor will be fully bought out, and complete control will be transferred to the Lore-Rodriguez group, which also includes former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and several other high-profile investors.

Krawczynski speculates that Taylor, who underwent hip surgery in December, wanted to put the issue behind him now that he’s feeling better physically. He also recognized that it’s difficult to get an arbitrator’s decision reversed, and he doesn’t want to be responsible for the team’s tax bill of nearly $90MM when the league’s fiscal year ends this summer.

There’s more from Minnesota:

Rudy Gobert‘s presence in the middle gives the Wolves hope of recapturing the dominant defense that led the NBA last season, Krawczynski adds in a separate story. The team has been more sporadic this year, Krawczynski observes, ranking sixth in defensive efficiency, but Gobert is asserting himself more as the playoffs approach. “I just try to set the tone,” he said. “I know that when I do that, it’s contagious for the team. For me, it’s really important to do it for the first minute of the game to the last and in practice every day and in the weight room. Wherever I’m at, I try to lead by example.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker described himself as “lost” when he was sent to Minnesota along with Mike Conley at the 2023 trade deadline, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Alexander-Walker has developed into a valuable rotation player, but he feared at the time that his NBA career might be close to an end. “Traded twice in 18 hours, not knowing what my reality of my career was gonna be,” he recalled. “Especially going into year four, I truly believed this could be my last year, going into my contract year, haven’t really had the opportunity to show what I could do.”
In an interview with Simone Sandri of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Donte DiVincenzo said he hopes to play for Italy at EuroBasket this summer. DiVincenzo recently talked to officials from the Italian national team and just has to finalize his passport. “I would say yes, we are all on the same wavelength,” he said. “For me it would be great to represent Italy, now we just have to wait for the documents to arrive.”

Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Cap Room, Nets, Wolves FAs, Connelly

March 29th, 2025 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Given the lack of cap room available around the NBA this season, it’s not a great time to be entering the market as a restricted free agents, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes in an Insider-only story.

“There’s only one team that has a lot of cap space and they may want to do a slower rebuild and aren’t looking to spend it all now,” a veteran agent told ESPN. “I’ve never seen a free agency where only one team has real cap space in my career. These free agents are f—ed.”

That “one team that has a lot of cap space” is Brooklyn — the Nets are expected to operate with between $45-60MM in room, according to Windhorst, and could open up additional space beyond that if they let certain players go. However, there’s an expectation around the league that the Nets won’t necessarily be looking to make win-now moves in free agency this summer.

“They’ve sent the message that if they do anything major with their space, it’s likely going to be through trade, not signings,” one rival executive told Windhorst. “Even if that trade doesn’t happen this summer, they’ll want to keep their options open.”

Nets general manager Sean Marks has shown in the past that he’s willing to pursue restricted free agents and give them aggressive offer sheets. During the team’s initial rebuild, Marks and his front office took that route with Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, Donatas Motiejunas, and Otto Porter Jr. in a span of two years (2016-17). But there’s no indication at this point that Brooklyn plans to pursue an RFA such as Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes, or Santi Aldama in the same way, which means those players may have limited leverage.

“Actually it’s no leverage,” another agent told ESPN. “I’ve prepared my clients for a free agent recession this summer. Next year will be different, the cap will be going up and teams will clean up their books as they deal with the new spending rules. So you may have to wait and try again.”

Here’s more from Windhorst and his ESPN colleague Tim Bontemps:

Examining the Timberwolves‘ upcoming free agent decisions, Bontemps says multiple scouts and executives believe that guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker could command a deal in the range of the full mid-level exception, since he has been a reliable three-and-D role players and is entering his prime years. As our projections show, a full four-year mid-level contract in 2025/26 is expected to be worth in excess of $60MM.
Sources around the NBA believes that both Julius Randle and Naz Reid will return to the Timberwolves next season, according to Bontemps. Both power forwards hold player options for 2025/26, with Randle’s worth $29.5MM (plus incentives) and Reid’s worth $15MM. Even if both players remain in Minnesota, it’s unclear what form that would take — opting out to sign a new deal would be one path, as would opting in, with or without a new extension.
The Timberwolves have another important free agent in their front office, having pushed back Tim Connelly‘s opt-out clause from 2024 to 2025. Team sources tell Windhorst that prospective owner Marc Lore has “made it a priority” to sign the president of basketball operations to an extension if and when he and Alex Rodriguez gain full control of the franchise.
In case you missed it, we also passed along reporting from Windhorst and Bontemps on the Pacers and starting center Myles Turner. That story can be found here.

Northwest Notes: Watson, SGA, R. Williams, Timberwolves

February 28th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, who has been sidelined since January 31 due to a sprained right knee, was ruled out for at least four weeks when the injury was first diagnosed. His absence is expected to extend a little beyond that initial timeline, head coach Michael Malone said on Thursday.

“He’s still got some hurdles to clear,” Malone said on Thursday, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). “Heading in the right direction. … I don’t know, maybe another seven to 10 days, kind of see what happens after this road trip, when we get back after the Boston game (on Sunday). Kind of reassess everything. But he’s definitely making progress, and hopefully he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”

According to Durando, Watson played 3-on-3 with teammates this week, but continued to wear a brace on his right leg during that session.

Watson has further solidified his place in the rotation in his third year with the Nuggets after averaging 18.6 minutes per game across 80 appearances in 2023/24. Through 48 games this season, he has averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 24.1 minutes per night, with a .471/.340/.752 shooting line.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Asked about his decision to part ways with his agents before becoming eligible for a super-max extension this summer, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it wasn’t just about avoiding agent fees on his upcoming mega-deal, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “It wasn’t entirely that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think, for myself, I wanna be a well-rounded human being. Not just a basketball player — a business man, a father, a husband. I want to check all the boxes. I think it would be a good experience for me to learn and get better in another area of life.”
Trail Blazers big man Robert Williams, who is dealing with a left knee sprain, will remain inactive for the rest of the team’s road trip, which runs through next Friday in Oklahoma City, reports Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Williams has been out since February 20 and hasn’t played in two consecutive games in over a month.
Anthony Edwards‘ one-game suspension, which he served on Friday, will cost him $242,393, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That’s 1/174th of Edwards’ $42,176,400 salary for the season. The Timberwolves will receive a tax variance credit of $121,196, Marks adds, which projects to reduce their end-of-season tax bill by about $515K.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker discussed the process of establishing himself as a reliable rotation player in Minnesota and brushed off a question about his upcoming unrestricted free agency. “Truthfully, the preparation is to let the time come when it comes and not get ahead of yourself,” Alexander-Walker said. “It’s something for me to learn now. The season’s not done. I’m still trying to win a championship. This organization has given me so much. So I want to continue to pour into the opportunity that I have and see what I can do with it.”

Northwest Notes: Jokic, MPJ, Blazers, Timberwolves

February 26th, 2025 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Nikola Jokic continued to bolster his case for a fourth MVP award on Monday by racking up a career-high 19 assists in a road win over the Pacers.

Jokic, who grabbed nine rebounds in the victory, narrowly missed his 27th triple-double of the season, but the Nuggets star is now averaging a triple-double on the year, with 29.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per contest. If he can maintain those averages, it would be the first time in his career that he has averaged a triple-double for a full season.

“The guy is just an amazing, complete basketball player,” head coach Michael Malone said, per ESPN. “And I think the most remarkable thing is not just 19 assists, but the satisfaction and joy that Nikola gets from making his teammates better. … He’s a humble person and understands that this whole thing is always much bigger than the individual. It’s the collective.

“But 19? … What is that? … He’s just an incredible player. And what a luxury to have when you can just play through him down the stretch of a close game and you know something good is going to happen each and every time.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., who missed the final three games before the All-Star break due to a minor hamstring injury, struggled upon returning last week, scoring 19 total points on 7-of-25 shooting (28.0%) in his first two games back. After contributing 19 points and 11 rebounds in Monday’s win over Indiana, Porter explained that he’s still working on getting his conditioning back to normal, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “I hadn’t ran at all for those three games I missed before the break, and then over the break, I didn’t run, so the first time I really ran was that first game back (last Thursday),” Porter said. “Now I’m just kind of getting my wind back and getting my groove back. It’s still not ‘a hundred a hundred’ percent, but it’ll be back in probably the next couple of games.”
How do the Trail Blazers stack up against the NBA’s other rebuilding teams? Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (Substack link) considers that question, evaluating how the Blazers compare to Brooklyn, Utah, Charlotte, Toronto, and Washington in terms of young talent, future draft assets, and a few other variables. Although the Blazers have a solid base of young talent, they don’t have a clear-cut franchise player, their cap sheet isn’t clean as some of the others, and it’s unclear whether Chauncey Billups will be their long-term answer at head coach, Highkin writes.
The Timberwolves pulled off arguably the most impressive comeback in franchise history on Monday, rallying from a 25-point deficit to knock off the West-leading Thunder in overtime. Chris Hine of The Star Tribune has the story on the improbable, galvanizing victory, exploring how the Wolves got crucial contributions from role players like Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr.

Wolves Rumors: Durant, Randle, Reid, Alexander-Walker

February 24th, 2025 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

Confirming earlier reporting that said the Timberwolves were among the teams who inquired on Kevin Durant prior to the February 6 trade deadline, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) reports that Minnesota was calling potential trade partners in the days leading up to the deadline to explore the possibility of getting below the second tax apron in order to aggregate salaries for the Suns star.

While there was little – if any – “tangible urgency” in Minnesota for major in-season changes to the roster, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to explore the idea of acquiring Durant, according to Fischer, who notes that the veteran executive has a history of operating aggressively on the trade market.

Although nothing came of the Wolves’ pursuit of Durant this month, Fischer wonders if it was connected at all to the impending ownership takeover by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and whether the team might renew its pursuit of Durant during the offseason if and when Lore and Rodriguez have officially assumed control of the franchise.

Here’s more from Fischer on the Wolves:

Multiple cap strategists from rival teams have suggested to Fischer that it might be in Julius Randle‘s best interest to exercise the $30.9MM player option he holds for the 2025/26 season. Randle, who has battled injuries over the past two seasons and has seen his production slip in Minnesota, seems unlikely to match that first-year salary on the open market if he opts for free agency.
Those same camp strategists consider it likely that Naz Reid will turn down his own $15MM player option this offseason in search of a more lucrative longer-term deal, says Fischer. However, as Fischer writes, teams like Cleveland, Dallas, and San Antonio – who were interested in Reid the last time he neared free agency – may be less inclined to pursue him this time around. The Cavaliers and Mavericks have since added other players to their respective frontcourts, while the Spurs – who were hoping in 2023 to add a floor-spacing center to play alongside Victor Wembanyama – have since begun playing Wembanyama at the five instead.
There’s an expectation that the Wolves and Reid will likely continue their relationship beyond this season, but Nickeil Alexander-Walker‘s future in Minnesota is more uncertain, Fischer writes. Since being traded to the Wolves in 2023, Alexander-Walker has emerged as an excellent point-of-attack defender who can hit outside shots (he has a .393 3PT% as a Timberwolf). Some league executives believe his next contract could get as high as $20MM per year, according to Fischer, which could make life difficult for a Minnesota team that already has plenty of sizable contracts on its books.

Timberwolves Notes: Dillingham, Clark, Finch, Alexander-Walker, Ingles

January 31st, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

A trio of little-used players helped the Timberwolves pick up a win Thursday night at Utah, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. With three members of the rotation unavailable, Rob Dillingham, Jaylen Clark and Luka Garza stepped in to fill the void. Dillingham, a lottery pick last summer, turned in one of the best games of his career with 19 points and eight assists while shooting 8-of-11 from the field.

“There was really no figuring it out,” he said of the team’s changing lineups. “We work out every day together. We get ready to play together. Them guys put in the work, even though they don’t get to show it all the time. They put in the work.”

Clark, a two-way guard who was appearing in just his sixth game, saw significant minutes off the bench for the second straight night. He was selected with the 53rd pick in the 2023 draft, but missed all of last season due to a ruptured Achilles. He won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors at UCLA, and the Wolves believe he could have a future as a defensive specialist.

“He’s got a maturity that we could use,” coach Chris Finch said. “Just felt like he deserved a chance. Been thinking that way for a little while, and Wednesday [against Phoenix] was certainly an opportunity to do it.”

There’s more on the Timberwolves:

Finch received the first ejection of his coaching career on Wednesday and Anthony Edwards had to separate him from referee C.J. Washington before he left the court, Hine adds in a separate story. His players said Finch was in a confrontational mood all day after Monday’s lethargic effort against a short-handed Atlanta team. “I think he went to sleep last night with violence on his mind, and you know how you go to sleep with something on your mind and you’re hoping when you wake up — I don’t think his sleep was good enough,” Edwards said. “The way he did us in film today, particularly me, it was a tough day for us.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was able to play 25 minutes on Wednesday, even though he had to be helped off the court Monday after suffering a lower leg contusion. With Donte DiVincenzo already sidelined, Alexander-Walker knew he had to be ready, notes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Everything I’ve been through in my career, playing, not playing, every time I can play I don’t want to miss that,” he said.
Joe Ingles, who signed with Minnesota as a free agent last summer, remains a popular figure in Utah, where he played the first eight seasons of his career, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. With Thursday’s game well out of hand, fans chanted for Ingles to be inserted, which he was for the final 3:51. The 37-year-old forward has made 10 brief appearances this season and has yet to score.

Northwest Notes: Hartenstein, Holmgren, Wolves, Nuggets

December 1st, 2024 at 8:15pm CST by Rory Maher

One of the prominent free agents of the 2024 offseason, Isaiah Hartenstein has been terrific for the Thunder since he returned from a left hand fracture, averaging 14.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 blocks in his first four games with the team (32.0 minutes per contest).

Since he was injured to open 2024/25 and Chet Holmgren subsequently sustained a pelvic fracture that will keep him sidelined for at least a couple months, the two big men have yet to play alongside each other in the regular season.

In a lengthy interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Hartenstein expressed confidence that his game will complement Holmgren’s once he returns, noting that his injured teammate is in “good spirits” as he continues to recover.

“Offensively, he’s really good with handling the ball,” Hartenstein said of Holmgren. “He can play that four position. So having that versatility with two big guys, especially defensively, is the biggest thing. You have two great rim protectors. He knows how to play the game. He’s smart. I think things can be really good when he comes back. We have different games. I’m probably more physical and will probably try to get other guys more open. He’s probably playing more on the outside. It’s similar, but different in the same way.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards had some pointed words for his Timberwolves teammates after they lost their fourth straight game earlier this week (they snapped that skid with a one-point victory over the Clippers on Friday). Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid recently responded to Edwards’ comments, particularly about the team being thin-skinned, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes. Alexander-Walker said the team misses the leadership of veteran forward Kyle Anderson, who landed with Golden State in free agency. “It’s a different team and dynamic, when you look at the team a season ago,” Alexander-Walker said. “Different personalities. Lost Kyle, who was a very, very vocal person in the locker room. He was kind of the glue to a lot of that stuff. It put guys in a position where now Ant is more vocal than ever. This is his first year doing so.”
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has taken on an increased offensive role this season. Bennett Durando of The Denver Post takes a look at how Porter, who has undergone multiple major surgeries over the years, is still improving his game with the help of an unorthodox workout regimen.
Former first-round pick Peyton Watson will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason. He recently discussed a number of topics with Sportskeeda contributor Grant Afseth, including his growing confidence as a member of the Nuggets‘ starting lineup — a role that will likely end soon, with Aaron Gordon officially ready to return to action on Sunday (Twitter link via the team).

Northwest Notes: Conley, Dillingham, Hartenstein, Sensabaugh, Blazers

November 27th, 2024 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves, who fell to 8-9 on the season on Tuesday with a loss to Houston, have a Mike Conley problem, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.

As Katz outlines, Conley was an extremely valuable role player for Minnesota last season, organizing the offense and knocking down a carer-high 44.2% of his three-point attempts. So far this season, the veteran point guard has battled injuries and has seen his shooting percentages drop off to 31.9% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc.

Conley’s teammates still perform better on offense when he’s on the court to set them up, per Katz. The club has a +5.5 net rating during the 37-year-old’s 325 minutes this fall, compared to a -0.8 mark in the 501 minutes he hasn’t played. Minnesota has also lost all four games he has missed, so getting him healthy will help. But if the Timberwolves want to make another deep playoff run in 2025, they’ll likely need Conley to serve as a more reliable offensive threat than he has been so far.

As for the Wolves’ options when Conley is unavailable, they’ve tried using Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the point guard role, but both players are better fits off the ball, notes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. As Hine writes, the team’s best alternative to Conley at the point may be rookie Rob Dillingham, who enjoyed his best game as a pro on Tuesday, racking up 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Minnesota was a +26 in those minutes.

“He’s been working extremely hard all year,” teammate Julius Randle said of the No. 8 overall pick. “And these past few games he’s got his number called and been ready for his moment.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Isaiah Hartenstein has been an ideal fit in his first two games with the Thunder (both wins), earning praise from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who called Hartenstein a “dream big man for a marquee guy,” according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Gilgeous-Alexander said he watched Hartenstein with the Knicks in the 2024 playoffs and knew he might be available in the offseason, but didn’t actively recruit him or encourage general manager Sam Presti to pursue him. “I leave the front office stuff to Sam,” he said. “Trust him really well. Obviously he reads minds. So I didn’t have to say anything. … We knew as a group and the world kinda knew there was a hole in us as a team last year. I think Isaiah fills that hole very well. Sam did a good job filling it. We are better because of it.”
The Jazz‘s decision to assign rookie Cody Williams to the G League for a stint with the Salt Lake City Stars should open up regular rotation minutes for second-year forward Brice Sensabaugh, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune details. Sensabaugh has had his two best scoring games of the season within the last week vs. the Spurs (18 points last Thursday and 16 points on Tuesday), but Utah still needs more from him on defense and as a rebounder, Larsen writes.
In a pair of mailbags for his Substack subscribers, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tackles several Trail Blazers-related questions, discussing Deni Avdija‘s role, Anfernee Simons‘s trade candidacy, and Shaedon Sharpe‘s ceiling, among other topics. Noting that both Simons and Scoot Henderson are off to slow starts this season, Highkin suggests the conditions aren’t ideal right now for a Simons trade — not only has Simons’ slump limited his trade value, but Henderson’s struggles mean Portland won’t feel comfortable handing the former No. 3 overall pick the keys to the offense.

Northwest Notes: Markkanen, Braun, Alexander-Walker, Avdija

November 2nd, 2024 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen has been ruled out for a second consecutive game, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who tweets that Markkanen will be unavailable on Saturday in Denver. Utah’s leading scorer also missed Thursday’s loss to San Antonio after exiting Tuesday’s game vs. Sacramento early due to low back spasms.

According to Larsen (Twitter link), Markkanen doesn’t anticipate a lengthy absence, indicating today that he believes he’ll return to action at some point during the team’s current road trip. That trip will include stops in in Chicago (on Monday), Milwaukee (Thursday), and San Antonio (next Saturday) before Utah returns home on November 12.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Christian Braun has impressed the Nuggets in his new starting role so far this season, but he blamed himself for helping to spark a late Timberwolves rally on Friday, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. He and Rudy Gobert were each assessed with a technical foul following a brief dust-up instigated by Braun’s celebration of a big dunk over the four-time Defensive Player of the Year (Twitter video link). The Wolves, down by eight points at the time with 5:14 left, ended up winning by three. “Momentum changed like that, after the tech,” Braun said, suggesting he views the incident as a learning experience. “… It should have been a positive, and then I get the tech, and that turns it to a negative. … I’ve gotta be smarter after I make that play. Get back on defense.”
Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has come a long way since being sent to Minnesota at the 2023 trade deadline as a throw-in alongside Mike Conley, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who takes a closer look at Alexander-Walker’s impact after he helped Minnesota steal a win from Denver on Friday. The 26-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
After being acquired in an offseason trade, Deni Avdija is off to a miserable shooting start with the Trail Blazers, making just 33.9% of his field goal tries, including 14.3% of his three-pointers, in his first six outings. As Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes in a subscriber-only story, Avdija – who had a key blocked shot late in Wednesday’s one-point win over the Clippers, is making an effort to help the team in other ways during his shooting slump. “I feel like I’m still trying to get in rhythm with everything,” he said. “Opening the season a little bit on the slow start for me personally but I’m trying to contribute with other things.”

More Notes On Blockbuster Knicks/Timberwolves Trade

September 28th, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Before news of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade broke on social media on Friday night, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly visited Towns at his Minnesota home to let him know that he was being traded to the Knicks, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

As Krawczynski details, the fact that the Wolves moved off one of their highest-paid players didn’t come as a total surprise, given the team’s high payroll in 2024/25 and beyond, but the timing of the move was “an absolute thunderbolt that no one saw coming” after the team spent the offseason lauding its roster continuity and chemistry.

According to Krawczynski, the Wolves had an increasingly difficult time envisioning a scenario in which they were able to keep their existing roster intact beyond the 2024/25 season. Sources tell The Athletic that if Towns had stayed in Minnesota long-term, it likely would’ve meant parting with fan favorite Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Getting two rotation players – Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo – in exchange for one will create more flexibility going forward for the Wolves, especially since Randle has the opportunity to reach free agency in 2025. While it doesn’t sound like there are any immediate plans to flip the newcomers – Krawczynski says Randle has “plenty of advocates” in Minnesota and the team has long had interest in DiVincenzo – their contracts should make them easier to move on the trade market, if necessary, than Towns was with four years and $220MM left on his deal, Krawczynski observes.

Here’s more on the Towns trade, which is still in the process of being finalized:

The Knicks repeatedly called the Timberwolves over the years to express their interest in Towns, but those discussions never really evolved into full-fledged negotiations until now, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.
While the “Villanova Knicks” won’t get to take the court this season – with DiVincenzo sent to Minnesota before Mikal Bridges has played his first game as a Knick – the club is excited about the way that Towns will complement Bridges, Jalen Brunson, and OG Anunoby, league sources tell The Athletic. Katz adds that Towns’ plus-minus numbers helped convince the Knicks to roll the dice on him, as the Wolves have consistently been better with him on the court throughout his career.
There’s not expected to be any lingering tension between Towns and former Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau. Towns has publicly spoken about harboring no ill feelings toward Thibodeau after their up-and-down time together in Minnesota from 2016-19, and a source close to the Knicks’ head coach says he feels the same way, per Katz. “If a guy can play,” that source said, “Thibs wants him.”
Although Towns and Randle have seven All-Star nods between them, both stars come with their share of question marks related to their injury histories, contract situations, and defense. Michael Pina of The Ringer considers the risk that both sides are taking on by making this move and questions the timing of the agreement.
In his analysis of the deal, John Hollinger of The Athletic notes that the Knicks addressed their center problem by acquiring Towns, but run the risk of creating “enough other issues that the cure may be worse than the disease.” Specifically, the deal will hurt the team’s wing depth and create major long-term cap challenges, Hollinger writes.
James L. Edwards III of The Athletic also isn’t 100% sure that the trade will make the Knicks a better team. Edwards acknowledges that Towns is the best player in the deal, but points out that he won’t address the team’s two biggest short-term needs: frontcourt defense and secondary play-making.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Chris Herring, and Bobby Marks take a look at what the move means for both the Knicks and the Timberwolves and explore the biggest remaining question marks related to the deal.