NBA Rumors: Kyrie Irving For Karl-Anthony Towns Trade ‘An Interesting Conversation,’ ‘ESPN’ Analyst Suggests
The hottest rumors in the NBA is currently swirling around Karl Anthony Towns, who, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN, is “not in a good place internally” with the Minnesota Timberwolves. As the 2018 offseason approaches, Towns’ name will be expected to surface in trade discussions, and one of the NBA teams who could express interest in adding him to their team is the Boston Celtics.
Joining Lowe in The Lowe Podcast, Brian Windhorst of ESPN opened up the possibility that the Celtics and the Timberwolves could engage in a blockbuster trade in the upcoming offseason. The potential deal may involve Karl-Anthony Towns and Kyrie Irving in which according to Windhorst would be “an interesting conversation.”
“If Minnesota called and said, ‘Hey would you take Towns for Kyrie Irving?’ That’s an interesting conversation,” Windhorst said.
In the proposed trade deal by Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report, the Celtics will be sending Kyrie Irving and a 2019 first-round pick (lottery protected, via Los Angeles Clippers) to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyus Jones, and Cole Aldrich. The deal works on the ESPN‘s NBA Trade Machine.
The deal is a no-brainer for the Timberwolves, especially if Towns already wants his way out of the team. Irving and Jimmy Butler could form an interesting duo in Minnesota, and with Andrew Wiggins not expected to accept the role as a third scoring option, the Timberwolves could include him in a trade package to acquire a new starting center to replace Towns.
@ChadinRipCity Blazers going to make a run at KAT?https://t.co/HDghNHY5Ru
— Dan Hall (@OMA2PDX) May 22, 2018
Meanwhile, it remains questionable if Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge will push through with the deal, knowing that they gave up lots of valuable assets just to acquire Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer. Even Windhorst doesn’t think that the Irving-for-Towns trade would be a “realistic conversation.” However, unlike most people think, Buckley believes the blockbuster trade will be beneficial for the Celtics, especially with their plan to rule the Eastern Conference in the years to come.
The departure of Irving will officially make Terry Rozier as the Celtics’ starting point guard. Since Irving went down due to injury, Rozier stepped up and served as one of the young players who helped the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals. If the young core of Rozier, Towns, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown continues to improve together as a team, the Celtics will have a real chance of defeating the reigning NBA champions, Golden State Warriors, in a best-of-seven series.
However, as of now, the deal involving Towns and Irving is still far from becoming a reality. Expect more rumors to circulate around Karl-Anthony Towns as the offseason draws near.
