Kofi Inkoom
Despite the Timberwolves’ willingness to pay the luxury tax to keep their core roster intact next season, Bleacher Report’s Gregg Swartz suggests they should consider trading Karl-Anthony Towns to Los Angeles if they want to avoid the hefty tax.
With Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Johnson and Clippers’ Bones Hyland expected to be on the move, a trade involving them makes sense as Swartz proposes.
The Timberwolves currently have about $191 million committed to nine players, surpassing the projected second apron of $189.5 million even before finalizing their roster. This level of spending is unprecedented for the franchise.
In a three-team trade proposal, Swartz suggests:
– Los Angeles Clippers Receive: F/C Karl-Anthony Towns
– Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: F Cameron Johnson, F Dorian Finney-Smith, SG Terance Mann, 2030 second-round pick
– Brooklyn Nets Receive: SG Norman Powell, PF Kobe Brown, G Bones Hyland, F/C P.J. Tucker, 2031 first-round pick (unprotected, via Los Angeles Clippers), 2031 second-round pick (via Los Angeles Clippers)
Towns, a four-time All-Star, has career averages of 22.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks. He was the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft out of Kentucky and has made two All-NBA teams.
Swartz writes, “The Clippers are in real danger of missing the Western Conference playoffs next season and should be in pursuit of a third star to pair with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. Towns, 28, is a four-time All-Star who would bring a different offensive dimension to Los Angeles with his floor-spacing ability. He could play alongside Ivica Zubac in the starting lineup, or head coach Tyronn Lue could go wing-heavy with Towns at center and either Nicolas Batum or Derrick Jones Jr. in the opening five. Either way, acquiring Towns should keep the Clippers in the top six in the West. To build a consistent winner and duck the second apron moving forward, the Wolves almost certainly have to move on from Towns and his current four-year, $220.4 million deal.”
Towns signed a four-year, $221 million extension in July 2022 and will make $49.4 million next season. He led the Timberwolves to the NBA Western Conference Finals, where they fell short to the Dallas Mavericks.
For the Timberwolves and the Nets, Swartz writes, “Johnson (13.4 points, 39.1 percent from three) would take over Towns’ spot in the starting lineup as a floor-spacing big, while Finney-Smith and Mann would make Minnesota even deeper overall. While this is a financially-driven move, the Wolves should remain at the top of the West with a core of Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, Mike Conley Jr., Johnson, Finney-Smith, Mann, Rob Dillingham and Joe Ingles in the rotation. Meanwhile, Brooklyn would accelerate its rebuild by collecting draft picks, expiring salary (Tucker), young players (Brown, Hyland) and a veteran whom it can flip at the trade deadline (Powell).”
Johnson, in the second year of his four-year, $94.5 million contract, averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game last season despite dealing with numerous injuries.
As a career 39.2% three-point shooter with good size for a wing, the 22-year-old led the Nets in scoring in the 2023/24 season.
He is eligible for a rookie scale extension until the day before the 2024/25 regular season begins. If no deal is reached, he will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025.
The Clippers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Mavericks this season, while the Timberwolves reached the conference finals but also lost to the Mavericks on the road. The Nets, on the other hand, did not make the playoffs.