Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns trade discussions resurface (Report)

“Whispers around the league have begun to speculate on the possibility of the Knicks moving Towns,” Popper wrote on Monday. “His name surfaced when the Bucks and Knicks discussed the chance of a deal involving Giannis Antetokounmpo, but now league sources said that talks have involved other teams, including Memphis, Orlando, and Charlotte.”

While Popper used the word “speculate” to begin the thought, he also used the past rumor involving the Milwaukee Bucks, while directly identifying three teams: the Memphis Grizzlies, the Orlando Magic, and the Charlotte Hornets.

Once realizing his words were widely thrown around by the broader NBA media world, Popper put forth an X post that poured some cold water on the idea.

Nevertheless, the point of the matter hits home. Towns, 30, is suffering through what many consider to be his worst professional basketball season.

The 7-footer, who, unlike last season, was bypassed as an NBA All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference, is averaging just 21.0 points per game on a brutal-looking .467 shooting. He’s also chipped in with 11.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per contest.

Last year, under Tom Thibodeau, Towns put up 24.4 points on .526 field goal percentage and 12.8 rebounds per game. Towns’s 3-point percentage of .358 is a career low — when not including his rookie season — and pales in comparison to his .420 mark in 2024-25.

For Knicks fans, the Towns trade rumors are pretty much the natural progression of things at this point. Not only has he drawn the ire of Knicks fans, but he also made comments earlier this season about how he’s struggling to fit into head coach Mike Brown’s system.

Leon Rose and the New York Knicks acquired Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 2, 2024 (the eve of the start of last season), in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a future first-round draft pick.