Karl-Anthony Towns trade looking disastrous for Timberwolves

The Karl-Anthony Towns trade looked bad for the Minnesota Timberwolves when their former star won an NBA championship with the New York Knicks. It looked even worse when the team got negative value for Julius Randle.

Minnesota sent Randle and the No. 28 pick in Tuesday's draft to the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 33 pick, while the Chicago Bulls took on center Nic Claxton. It's a brutal return for a player who was the centerpiece of their blockbuster trade less than two years ago.

Minnesota Timberwolves' cost-conscious moves have backfired

Financial concerns were central in the Timberwolves' decision to swap Towns, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, plus the No. 17 pick in last year's draft, used on French center Joan Beringer. Towns was about to start a four-year, $220M extension at the time of the trade and the Wolves were concerned about paying him with Anthony Edwards on a max deal and Rudy Gobert making over $40M.

Minnesota also tried to lock in affordable talent, trading a 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 swap to grab point guard Rob Dillingham at No. 8 in 2024. At first, the deal looked like a win-win, with both the Knicks and Timberwolves reaching the conference finals in 2025. Towns averaged 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds, while Randle gave the Wolves a secondary playmaker.

But Dillingham couldn't stay on the floor, the Wolves let reserve guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker leave in free agency and the Wolves eventually traded Dillingham for Ayo Dosunmu. After declining to match Alexander-Walker's modest four-year, $60M deal, the Wolves gave Randle $100M for three years and signed Naz Reid for five years and $125M. Now they've given Dosunmu $112M for five years, another large expenditure for a role player.

Karl-Anthony Towns proved his worth with Knicks

Towns was the most important player outside of Jalen Brunson as the Knicks went 16-3 in this year's playoffs. Randle was ineffective as the Timberwolves lost to the San Antonio Spurs, while DiVincenzo suffered an Achilles tear in the first round. Yes, Towns makes a great deal of money, but there's very few players who can score inside, shoot outside, rebound and not flinch against Victor Wembanyama.

Towns is well worth the money, which is arguably untrue for Randle and Reid. If the Timberwolves were so worried about their payroll, then why overpay Randle and Reid in free agency a season ago? Now they've traded multiple picks to solve their self-created problem, including a swap in the Dillingham trade that moved them to No. 28 in the first place.

Moving Towns was supposed to let the Timberwolves increase their depth. Now the team is looking shallow and financially-strapped, while Towns is an NBA champion.