Prior to acquiring superstar center Karl-Anthony Towns , the New York Knicks had a real problem at the center position. It started when Isaiah Hartenstein left for the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency, and became amplified when it was announced that Mitchell Robinson wasn’t going to be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from offseason ankle surgery. The Knicks’ lack of center depth was the ‘driving force’ to acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns The Knicks made offers to a number of potentially available targets, but none to the same caliber as Towns, and each offer was made to no avail.
Ultimately, they decided to go all-in with their title chances rising this summer and brought in the best big man available, though it came at the cost of two important pieces in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke to reporters in their first training camp practice in Charleston on Thursday, and indicated that their lack of depth at center was what led them to pull off the blockbuster trade: “We had a need, obviously, at the center position. That was really the driving force behind [the trade],” Thibodeau said (h/t SNY ).
“We certainly appreciated everything [Randle and DiVincenzo] did for us. It’s a tough decision to make, but it is one that we felt we had to make.” Thibodeau said that Randle and DiVincenzo brought “a lot” to the Knicks but acknowledged that it costs a hefty price to bring in an All-Star caliber player like.