It's go time for Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns addressed the media on Friday afternoon after signing a four-year, $224 million supermax extension earlier this month. While Towns said he's excited to stay with the Timberwolves, he made it clear that he expects to bring a championship to Minnesota.
"It's go time," Towns said. "It's just it. [The Rudy Gobert trade] happens and there's no more time. There's no more excuses. We got to get it done now. So I'm going to go out there and it's championship now or bust. So [we] got to go out there and get the job done."
Towns referenced the momentum the Timberwolves built last season as a key reason to stay in Minnesota. Where Towns waited until the eve of training camp to sign his last extension in September 2018, he signed his extension the moment he was eligible on July 6 in large part due to the vision that Chris Finch has built.
"He just knew how committed I was to this team and how much I was committed to wanting to...keep going," Towns said. "The NBA is aware of who we are now. We set to go out there and make noise and make sure that everyone knew exactly that this ain't the Timberwolves that they're used to. We've done that.
"Everyone's very aware and they're going into the offseason and how they're going to beat us. Why not keep that momentum going? Why not change the game? Why not bring a championship or bring that basketball that the fans and everyone here has been yearning for so much? "Let's bring it back. Let's bring it back not just for one year and everyone gets excited and it's over. Let's do this consecutive years in a row. Let's make a run."
Part of that journey will involve Gobert, who was acquired from the Utah Jazz shortly after the NBA's tampering period on July 1. Towns said he was in London training when the deal went down and didn't realize that the deal happened until he returned to the United States.
When he returned to Minnesota, Towns instantly became excited about the partnership he could form with Gobert, who is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
"He's going to be a massive part to us being a championship team," Towns said. "My job is to help him as much as he's going to help me. His strengths are my weaknesses and his weaknesses are my strengths, so we'll be able to play off each other."
Towns also had high praise for new president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, saying that he's already gained his trust despite being on the job for just under two months.
"We've had a lot of discussions and I trust him," Towns said of Connelly. "I knew that he came in with such high regards from so many people and actually getting the chance to speak to him and operate with him, through this contract and everything, I just know that the organization in good hands."
Connelly also had kind words for Towns, commending his decision to stay despite the lack of continuity during his career.
"Karl’s seen a lot of faces in my seat and in [Finch’s seat," Connelly said. "When you lack that continuity, I don’t think it was a foregone conclusion [Towns would sign the extension.] I think what he says, he obviously believes because he’s up here, but we want to ensure to Karl and his family in jest that we’re serious about winning. We’re serious about trying to achieve things that this team’s never achieved and we didn’t want to take this commitment for granted."
In the end, Towns' new contract allows him to spend four more seasons in Minnesota, but after making the playoffs just twice in his first seven seasons, Towns hopes to lead the Timberwolves to a deep run and establish the kind of long-term success the franchise hasn't seen since Kevin Garnett was in uniform.
“I was confident and my dream was always to try to retire here and live every single day of my NBA career as a [Timberwolf]," Towns said. "Obviously deeper into my career [with a new contract,] I feel very good about the possibility of that happening and I’m very excited."
