Money Fueled The Timberwolves' Decision To Trade Karl-Anthony ...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 07: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talks with ... [+] Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks after a play in the third quarter of the game at Target Center on November 7, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the NBA world on Friday night by agreeing to trade star center Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a protected first-round pick, according to multiple reports. The two sides are still hashing out the final details of the deal—the Charlotte Hornets are expected to get looped in for financial reasons—but it's a seismic shakeup on the eve of training camp.

The timing came as a surprise, particularly since the Timberwolves made the Western Conference Finals last season for only the second time ever. They're fresh off arguably the second-best season in franchise history, topped only by the 2003-24 campaign.

However, the Timberwolves likely didn't make this trade for basketball reasons. This appears to be a financially driven move above all else.

Towns is heading into the first year of the four-year, $220.4 million supermax extension that he signed with the Timberwolves in July 2022. Fellow Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is on a near-max extension of his own, while star guard Anthony Edwards is heading into the first year of his five-year, $244.6 million max extension as well.

Prior to this trade, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst that the Timberwolves were facing "losing more than $100 million this season because of a whopper of a luxury-tax bill coming due with new contracts" for Towns and Edwards. They're also in the midst of a messy ownership spat between current team governor Glen Taylor and a prospective ownership group led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. They're set to begin arbitration in early November, according to Windhorst, "with a decision expected around the new year."

While it's unclear who will be paying the future bills for the Timberwolves, they were on the verge of becoming financially stuck prior to the Towns trade. With Gobert, Edwards and Towns all on max deals, they might have struggled to retain reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid, who figures to decline his $15.0 million player option next summer to become an unrestricted free agent.

The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement makes it difficult to build and sustain a championship-caliber supporting cast around three players on max contracts. It contains strict penalties for teams that go well above the luxury tax—particularly those that cross the second apron—which is where the Timberwolves were poised to be with Towns, Gobert and Edwards in the fold.

There's a real chance that this trade will make the Timberwolves worse in the short term. Randle has a $30.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season, so he could walk as a free agent next summer and leave the Timberwolves with nothing to show for Towns other than DiVincenzo and a protected first-round pick. They wouldn't have significant cap space to replace him unless Gobert also opted out and left.

However, the Wolves intentionally might be taking one step back to expedite how quickly they can take two steps forward later. If they decide to re-route Randle at some point between now and the Feb. 9 trade deadline, his $28.9 million contract could be the salary ballast they need to help them land another impact player.

It's harder to justify this move for the Wolves from an on-court perspective. Randle is a career 33.3% shooter from three-point range, although he has substantially ratcheted up his volume in recent years. Still, that's a far cry from Towns' career mark of 39.8% from deep.

Gobert is a complete non-factor as a scorer outside of the paint, while Jaden McDaniels has been a streaky shooter throughout his four-year NBA career as well. Even with the addition of the sharpshooting DiVincenzo, who drilled a career-high 3.5 threes per game last season on a sizzling 40.1% clip, offensive floor spacing projects to be a major issue for the new-look Timberwolves.

They might not be particularly worried about that, though. Instead, they appear to have concluded that their previous core had run its course. Running the same group back just because they made the Western Conference Finals last year might have only delayed the inevitable.

Considering what other stars have fetched in trades in recent years, the Timberwolves' return for Towns might seem underwhelming. He's made four All-Star teams and two All-NBA teams in the past seven years. Then again, Randle has racked up two All-NBA nods and three All-Star appearances in the past four years alone.

It's hard to imagine that the soon-to-be 30-year-old is long for Minnesota unless Gobert is headed elsewhere at some point. Their on-court fit figures to be somewhat clunky. But this trade might just be the first step in reorienting the franchise around Edwards, the precocious No. 1 pick from the 2020 NBA draft.

Edwards looked like a star-in-the-making in 2022-23, when he averaged a then-career-high 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game en route to his first All-Star appearance. He cemented that reputation this past season, when he earned a second-team All-NBA nod, a second straight All-Star appearance and finished seventh in MVP voting.

To Towns' credit, he seemingly showed no ill will toward Edwards despite getting supplanted as the face of the Timberwolves organization. Towns might be better off as a second banana than a No. 1 option anyway. But he was getting paid like the latter, which the Timberwolves could no longer afford under the restrictive new CBA.

Minnesota fans have every right to be upset about this trade, as it seemingly knocks the Wolves back in the championship race this season. But for the long-term health of the organization, it might be better for them to take their financial medicine sooner than later.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.