The Minnesota Timberwolves may have had another motive for trading away Karl-Anthony Towns.
Minnesota made the stunning move on Friday to ship off their longest-tenured player Towns, a four-time All-Star, to the New York Knicks. The move comes after the Timberwolves just made their first conference finals appearance in 20 years (with Towns as their starting 4).
NBA salary cap specialist Yossi Gozlan noted that the Wolves stand to save $26.5 million in payroll and luxury tax penalties by trading Towns. Gozlan adds that Minnesota is still set to be above the $188.9 million second apron next season. However, with Rudy Gobert currently eligible for an extension, he could extend at a lower starting salary and put the Timberwolves in a stronger position to re-sign Naz Reid next summer, Gozlan says.
Towns, 28, is entering the first year of a new four-year, $220 million contract. Meanwhile, incoming trade pieces Julius Randle (two years and $50 million left on his contract) and Donte DiVincenzo (three years and $36 million) are on much more affordable deals.
The extremely punitive penalties for being in the second apron (no access to the taxpayer midlevel exception, no aggregating salaries in trades, no ability to sign outside free agents for more than the veteran’s minimum, possible freezing of draft picks, etc.) have forced NBA teams to make drastic moves this offseason to shed salary. But Minnesota’s trade of Towns, which may have been primarily motivated by financial considerations, still might not play out well in the eyes of fans, especially with the known concerns about possible payroll cuts by the Timberwolves’ new ownership group.
