NBA Rumors: Celtics Should Trade For Karl-Anthony Towns Instead Of Anthony Davis, According To ‘ESPN’ Analyst
After surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins with quality players, the Minnesota Timberwolves have managed to end their 13-year playoff drought. However, being easily eliminated in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs was not what they expected when they upgraded their roster last summer. Their inferior postseason performance has created several issues in Minnesota, and Zach Lowe of ESPN revealed that Towns and the Timberwolves “not in a good place internally”.
“Darren Wolfson [veteran reporter in Minnesota] alluded to a lot of it on a podcast a couple weeks ago. I said on a podcast recently that I just have a gut feeling something crazy is gonna happen there this summer. It’s not in a good place right now internally.”
Joining Lowe in the podcast, Brian Windhorst of ESPN entered the possibility that the name of Karl-Anthony Towns could surface in trade discussions in the upcoming offseason. One of the NBA teams who may consider trading for Towns is the Boston Celtics. If the Timberwolves shop Towns, Windhorst suggested that the Celtics should “make a quiet call” to Minnesota’s front office.
In the past months, the Celtics were frequently linked in various trade rumors with Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. The Celtics currently have a plethora of trade assets to engage in a blockbuster trade, but as of now, the Pelicans show no indication that they will make Davis available on the trading block this summer.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Wolves 'not in a good place internally,' could come up in trade discussions, per @ZachLowe_NBA, @WindhorstESPN https://t.co/5HkOgicOp7 pic.twitter.com/Of3xvOnBjO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 18, 2018
Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype believes Karl-Anthony Towns is a “more realistic option” for the Celtics than Anthony Davis. Playing alongside Al Horford in the Celtics’ frontcourt won’t be a problem for Towns since both of them have already played together on the national team for the Dominican Republic. In a potential trade discussion, the Timberwolves are expected to demand both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Tatum and Brown have shown strong performance in the 2017-18 NBA season and are currently leading the Celtics against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, trading both talented players could be too much for the Celtics. Kalbrosky said it’s possible that the Celtics will only consider trading one of Tatum or Brown together with another key asset and a future first-round pick.
If the Celtics succeed to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns, it will strengthen their chance of fully dominating the Eastern Conference next season, especially if Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward return to their 100 percent health. Meanwhile, the potential package the Timberwolves will receive for Towns will help them rebuild their roster while remaining as a legitimate playoff contender in the deep Western Conference.
