Even though Karl-Anthony Towns' social-media reaction to being traded seemed like one of surprise, the Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly never guaranteed the four-time All-Star he wouldn't be dealt at some point. Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst , Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly "could not give that promise" when Towns previously sought assurances he would remain with the club while settling into his new role of supporting Anthony Edwards as the No. 1 option.
On Friday, The Athletic's Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski reported the Timberwolves agreed to send Towns to the New York Knicks for Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round draft pick via the Detroit Pistons. Shortly before the trade was reported, Towns made a cryptic post on social media with an ellipsis. There was certainly some surprise that Towns was traded right now, both in terms of how close it is to the start of the 2024-25 campaign and because of the success Minnesota had last season.
It's not totally unheard of for a blockbuster trade involving a star player to happen in late September or early October. Damian Lillard was traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal exactly one year ago Friday. For the most part, though, teams have finished all of their pertinent offseason business long ago and will at least start the season to see what their roster can do before thinking of breaking it apart.
The Timberwolves had .