The Minnesota Timberwolves shook the NBA after they agreed to commerce away All-Star large man Karl-Anthony Cities to the New York Knicks in change for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
The transfer got here as a shock because the Timberwolves appeared set with their roster after attending to the 2024 Western Convention Finals.
Nonetheless, they as a substitute determined to ship Cities to a Knicks crew that was in determined want of a middle after shedding Isaiah Hartenstein as a free agent whereas Mitchell Robinson continues to recuperate from an harm.
Cities’ slot in New York is smart on paper, although for Minnesota it stays to be seen what Randle can do with out as a lot ground spacing.
The Timberwolves are nonetheless thought of a risk to win the Western Convention and get to the NBA Finals for the primary time, although the timing of the transfer on the eve of coaching camp raises some questions.
NBA insider Jared Greenberg defined that the transfer was inevitable and sure financially motivated amid the Timberwolves’ ongoing possession saga.
“Their ownership situation is a freakin’ mess right now,” Greenberg stated, through SiriusXM NBA Radio. “How can anybody expect them to go this far into the tax … not knowing who’s going to be footing the bill?”
“How can anybody expect them to go this far into the tax…not knowing who’s going to be footing the bill?”@NBAonTNT reporter @JaredSGreenberg tells @BGeltzNBA and @SamMitchellNBA that the T-Wolves shifting KAT was a matter of when, not if. pic.twitter.com/64kLJTPVz0
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 28, 2024
Present majority proprietor Glen Taylor has been locked in a dispute with minority homeowners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez after asserting earlier this yr that the crew was now not on the market.
Taylor argued that Lore and Rodriguez missed cost deadlines, although they dispute that declare.
With a lot instability on the high of the group, it could make sense for the Timberwolves to chop payroll, although it may come at the price of the crew’s on-court success.
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Insider Reveals How Julius Randle Matches On Timberwolves