Karl-Anthony Towns Has Blunt Response to Persistent Trade Rumors Ahead of Deadline

Towns has seen his name mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the deadline.

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns has been the subject of trade rumors. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t bothered by being mentioned in trade rumors.

The Knicks center has seen his name tossed around in trade speculation over the past few weeks and doesn’t seem to have time for it.

“I feel like I’ve been in trade rumors a lot for a lot of times, for a year damn near. That don’t matter to me,” Towns said. “I don’t look at social media or none of that stuff. I focus on the job on hand which is trying to get wins every single night. As long as I do that, I do my job, I go home happy and I feel accomplished. I’m not worried about what anybody got to say or people write or anything like that.”

While he’s acting like he doesn’t care, The Athletic’s Sam Amick claims that Towns being included in trade discussions with the Bucks about Giannis Antetokounmpo led to “hard feelings” that remain to this day.

New York acquired Towns from the Timberwolves on October 2, 2024, as part of the three-way trade that included the Hornets. As part of the deal, the Knicks sent Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, and a 2025 first-round pick to Minnesota, while routing DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr., Duane Washington Jr., and two second-rounders to the Hornets. The Hornets also landed a 2025 second-rounder from the Timberwolves and sent the draft rights to James Nnaji to the Knicks.

Towns was excellent during his first season in New York as he averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 35.0 minutes per game. He shot 52.6% from the field and 42.0% from three-point range as the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals.

The 30-year-old has taken a step back this season. In 44 games, he is averaging 20.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 31.6 minutes per contest. He’s shooting 46.2% from the field, and 36.1% from beyond the arc, so his numbers are down across the board.

Towns could just be having a bit of a down season, or the five-time All-Star might be starting his decline. If that’s the case it would make sense for New York to move on before things get worse.

Karl-Anthony Towns contract

The Timberwolves signed Towns to a four-year, $224 million contract extension in July of 2022, making him one of the NBA’s highest-paid players. This year, he’s fifth, with only Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Kevin Durant ahead of him. All five of those guys have MVP awards in their trophy cases, while Towns does not.

Towns is making $54.1 million this season, and has two years and $118 million left on his current deal, which would make him extremely difficult to move. The Knicks would need to match the salary coming back, which means they would likely have to find a star, like Antetokounmpo, to take back in return.

We’ll see how things play out over the next week before the NBA’s February 5 trade deadline.

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