According to NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns could return before the 2024 playoffs.
Towns underwent left knee lateral meniscus surgery on March 12.
Towns is averaging 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks this season while shooting 50.6% from the field, 42.3% from beyond the arc and 87.4% from the free-throw line.
A four-time All-Star, Towns has 22 double-doubles on the season. The Timberwolves look like legitimate championship contenders for the first time since 2004 when Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett led the team to the conference finals.
In July 2022, the Timberwolves signed Towns to a four-year, $221 million extension. Towns will make $49.4 million next season.
Minnesota drafted Towns with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Towns has career averages of 22.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.3 blocks.
The Timberwolves have never advanced past the first round of the playoffs in the Towns era. It will be fascinating to see how far Minnesota goes in the 2024 playoffs.
With a record of 52-23, the Timberwolves are in third place in the Western Conference standings. They are 18th in the NBA in points per game, first in points per game allowed and third in net rating.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told NBA reporter Darren Wolfson that Towns is ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery.
Taylor issued a statement last week saying that the opportunity for Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to take control of the franchises has expired, meaning that he plans to retain his status as majority owner of the Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx.
In the statement, Taylor also stated, “Under terms of the purchase agreement, the closing was required to occur within 90 days following the exercise notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez. That 90-day period expired on March 27, 2024. Under certain circumstances, the buyer could have been entitled to a limited extension. However, those circumstances did not occur.
“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court. The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
It’s believed that Rodriguez and Lore no longer have a good relationship with Taylor.
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