Reporter shares Karl-Anthony Towns’ likely plans with Timberwolves
Jul 9, 2019; Marina del Rey, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns attends the Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards at Ritz-Carlton. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Karl-Anthony Towns is arguably one of the best centers in basketball today. He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2016, is a three-time All-Star and has twice been named All-NBA Third Team. But will the Minnesota Timberwolves give him a supermax extension when the time comes?
Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic certainly thinks so.
“I’ve been around him for seven years and around this team for a lot longer than that. One thing you do know is that when you have very high-level players in Minnesota, you’ve got to do whatever you can to keep them. I fully expect that Karl-Anthony Towns will get a max offer from the Timberwolves and that he’ll sign that max offer,” Krawczynski said on the HoopsHype podcast.
“He likes it here, he likes Minnesota, he wants to be here [and] he likes Chris Finch a lot. He likes his teammates [and] he loves playing with Anthony Edwards. He’s been friends with D’Angelo Russell for a long time. This is a situation where the Timberwolves have a player under their control and one who is a very good player and wants to be here. In that case, I think you make that offer. You get him signed for the long term, and then you evaluate as it goes on.”
The 26-year-old Towns averaged more than 24 points per game (24.6) for the fourth consecutive year and helped lead Minnesota to the playoffs. And while his performance in the postseason left a bit to be desired, it’s clear Towns is trending in the right direction.
Even if Anthony Edwards breaks out and emerges as a superstar, pairing him with an inclining Towns would be a no-brainer for the Timberwolves. Even at the cost of $211 million guaranteed.
