Reports: Knicks trading Randle to Wolves for Towns

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With most of the league’s training camps about to open on Monday, reports emerged late Friday that the Knicks had made a major move prior to the annual preseason tipoff:
Per Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, New York is adding All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, sending back All-Star forward Julius Randle to the Timberwolves, along with guard Donte DiVincenzo and a protected first-round pick (via Detroit).

The Hornets soon emerged as a reportedly crucial third team in the deal, taking on DaQuan Jeffries and draft compensation to help facilitate considering the cap implications that come into play with a pair of “apron” teams.
Towns, a four-time All-Star entering his 10th season, never hinted at any discontent with the team that drafted him first overall in 2015 despite several lean years preceding the run to the Western Conference finals last spring.
Active in the Twin Cities community, willing to defer the alpha role to young star Anthony Edwards, and unbothered by the move to a stretch power forward role following the acquisition of center Rudy Gobert two years ago, Towns did not appear to see this move coming three days before the beginning of training camp. The upside for the 7-footer is a return to his roots, having grown up in New Jersey.

The Wolves get an All-Star power forward in Randle, plus a sharpshooter in DiVincenzo coming off a career-best season and a first-rounder to offset some of the draft picks they sent to Utah in the trade for Gobert.
Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has never been afraid of a bold move, as he proved by going big — on the court and off — in the Gobert deal. This might be even bigger, as the Wolves prepare for the challenge of trying to make it two steps further in the playoffs while the top Western Conference teams show no signs of letting up around them.
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Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.