Despite Squashing Beef With Tom Thibodeau, Karl-Anthony Towns’ Knicks Dream Takes a Joel Embiid Hit

The Karl-Anthony Towns-New York Knicks trade whispers have been going around for a while now. It got louder especially during this offseason. With the Timberwolves failing to go through to the play-offs, many believed that the time had come for the NBA All-Star to find a new home. And the Knicks were one of the top potential picks. 

But, as we see now, nothing came into fruition out of those rumors and KAT is set to play for Minnesota in the 2023-24 regular season. But now, those whispers are back again. 

A potential midseason trade? 

In 2018, Karl criticized Tom Thibodeau, a known disciplinarian, for his player development and coaching. This gave rise to news of beef between the two. Earlier this month, Stephen Bondy of New York Post reported that the two had gotten past. Towns said, “Two grown men got together and had a conversation. I got no problems with Thibs. We’ve been squashed that.” He also added, “I still look at Thibs as one of the best X’s and O’s coaches I’ve been able to play for. He breathes winning and I got nothing but respect for him.” 

For his part, Tom, who now coaches the Knicks said, “Watching the progress he’s made throughout his career, he’s as gifted as they come”.

Thibodeau added, “When you look at an offensive player, particularly a big, the skill set that he has, I think we all saw, to win the 3-point contest and stuff like that, there’s nothing he can’t do offensively.”

However, new information has been revealed about the Knicks front office’s thoughts on a potential trade. Along with Karl, there were two other potential players on this list, Donovan Mitchel and Joel Embiid. And NBA Insider Dexter Henry revealed that the most realistic option that the Knicks were looking for is actually Joel Embiid.

“I hear that the Knicks interest in Embiid is highest for sure, in terms of the rankings”. He also added, “The Knicks are doing their due diligence, they are going to keep tabs on the guys they have connections with.”

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So now it seems like there’s going to be a bit of competition for Karl. 

KAT coming to NY is the most likely 

Later, Dexter also added that Karl is most likely to join because of the circumstances at Minnesota. He said, “It would be Kat. Because I think the Wolves try to look at this year as ‘Alright this is Anthony Edwards’ team. We’re trying to go in this direction.’”

Since they are in a position to trade someone and the Knicks are looking to add a star to the team, this seems like the most likely scenario to him. 

That would be great news for the 27-year-old. During his 2015 NBA draft, the Knicks had the second-best odds to get the No. 1 pick at 19.9 percent, behind the Minnesota Timberwolves (25 percent).

He shared, “I’ve always been a Knicks fan. I never was able to afford passes to the games. We were able to afford cable and got the MSG channel so I could watch every Knick game. It made me more of a fan because I could watch every big game.” 

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But as fate would have it, he was picked by Minnesota and has been playing for eight seasons. But has the time come for Karl to realize the dreams of his younger self? Only time will tell.