The New York Knicks are spending a lot of money to make the acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns a reality.
The NBA officially announced the blockbuster trade on Wednesday, which sends Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves to New York for a package headlined by Julius Randle. The Timberwolves had some financial reasons to want to make the deal, and that showed in what the Knicks paid to get it done.
In addition to the $9.4 million payroll increase, the Knicks sent cash to the Charlotte Hornets, and had to pay off Randle’s trade bonus. The addition of Towns will also increase the Knicks’ luxury tax bill by almost $24 million. In total, adding Towns will cost the Knicks roughly $45 million this season.
The total cost this season for the New York Knicks to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns: $45 million.
-$23.8 million (luxury tax penalty increase)
-$9.4 million (payroll increase)
-$7.2 million (cash to Hornets)
-$4.1 million (Julius Randle's trade bonus)
-$850,000 (towards Duane… https://t.co/gGKAVU4nms— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) October 2, 2024
Credit to the Knicks for not being afraid of a pretty hefty bill. Owner James Dolan may be a controversial figure, but he is not shying away from spending money.
On the flipside, the Timberwolves are getting some serious financial relief from the deal. There is a pretty enormous difference in market sizes here between Minnesota and New York, and it shows.
