From the odd timing and questionable offense to the fact that a few contenders are coming off their best season in a generation and then decide to do something unnecessarily drastic: a big part of Friday night’s blockbuster trade between the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves is wrong. I’m really looking forward to it.

After nine seasons, four All-Star appearances and a conference finals appearance just four months ago, Karl-Anthony Towns’ time in Minnesota is over. He goes to New York for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a protected first-round pick via the Pistons (it can’t go higher than 10th through 2027) in what could reasonably be described as a headline-making trade and who probably won. This did not bring either team any closer to a finals appearance.

The incentives on both sides are sensible, but discouraging. Minny did this to shed Towns’ extravagant four-year, $220 million contract (which includes a $61 million player option in 2028, when he turns 32 years old). The franchise’s desire to get rid of it wasn’t surprising, given the exorbitant luxury tax bill and the cap that easily topped the second platform for years to come. The chances of KAT completing this deal without being moved have been slim since he put pen to paper in 2022. But the predicament here, evident throughout the Wolves’ impressive playoff run, is how good and important Towns clearly was to a team that truly valued his size and unique offensive skills. There were stretches of adversity and drought in the postseason (particularly in the Western Conference Finals), but Towns was sensational in pivotal games against the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, whether it was guarding Nikola Jokic or achieving a true shooting percentage of 63.3 in the first two rounds.

The hour of this trade is coming off the deepest period in decades and is irritating. Why abolish cities? now? He’s still an All-Star steal in the middle of his prime, naturally complementing and feeding off Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. When those three shared the court last season, the Timberwolves absolutely ruled the roost on both ends.

The value Wolves GM Tim Connelly got back wasn’t horrible, but it doesn’t make his basketball team any better either. Here’s a generous big picture: Randle has made two All-NBA teams in the last four years; DiVincenzo is resilient, versatile and made 40.7 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s in 2023-24; and drafting compensation in any form matters to a team that previously had zero picks available to trade this year or next.

Terminating Towns’ contract also provides quite a bit of flexibility over the coming summers, especially if Randle (who has a $30.9 million player option next season and turns 30 in November) doesn’t stick around. In 2026-2027, only Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, DiVincenzo and three rookie-scale contracts will be on the books. If Rob Dillingham strikes and becomes a reliable starter, Minnesota can try to build something brand new around one of the most electric superstars in the world.

But in the here and now, as a team reasonably aiming to win it all in 2025, this trade could come back to haunt the Wolves. Randle is inefficient, volatile and exudes a selfish streak. He is a 33.3 percent 3-point shooter in his career and made 31.1 percent last year. How tight will Ant’s lanes be without cities behind the arc? How much space will Gobert have to roll if he sets a ball screen for Mike Conley? Naz Reid was needed last year. Now he might be a little too crucial.

Perhaps the Wolves think they can quickly take a lead in the Western Conference by replacing Towns’ production with Randle’s physicality; adding DiVincenzo to a rotation that can really utilize more accurate, high-volume motion shooters is a boon. Maybe they don’t view the new Nuggets as the same kind of threat without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, or they see Oklahoma City’s new size as an existential issue.

But getting rid of Towns nowinstead of waiting until February (when a trade like this would likely still be on the table), fundamentally mangled what was a winning formula. Remember: Towns’ inability to anchor an above-average defense was the biggest reason why Minnesota mortgaged most of its future to get Gobert in the first place. I understand how dramatically the new CBA has changed every organization’s financial projections, but for the Wolves to then turn around and throw out KAT for a worse player who, on paper, doesn’t make much sense next to Gobert or Ant is… not ideal.

Edwards just lost someone who might as well have been created in a lab as his ideal pick-and-roll partner. In four years, as teammates they developed a workable chemistry and dynamic that still had room to grow. Randle is a bit clumsier and less predictable. He needs the ball and doesn’t always make great decisions with it. His postseason resume is covered in kitty litter. If there’s a coach who can make it all work it’s Chris Finch, but this is one of the last players in the league I’d want besides Edwards, even if it’s just for one season before I can refocus my roster .

The other side of this transaction is less troubling, but hardly triumphant. Again, why did the Knicks make this trade in late September, before they actually got a chance to see what Randle, OG Anunoby, and the Nova Bros looked like together? While they understand the relationship that several members of New York’s front office have with Towns, absorbing his massive contract and reckless tendencies on the field (on both sides), seeking cheaper short-term solutions that wouldn’t cost DiVincenzo — their best shooter and second-leading scorer during last year’s postseason – a preferable route.

New York received the best player in this deal. But Towns in New York isn’t necessarily who he could be in Minnesota, where Gobert was a safety net. Mitchell Robinson could potentially fill a similar role, but he’s been hurt all the time (including now, over the next few months) and doesn’t own four Defensive Player of the Year trophies. In other words, the Knicks haven’t solved their frontcourt issues. What they did do, however, is add a very talented big who can spread the floor, develop a devastating two-man game with Jalen Brunson and, historically, almost single-handedly raise the floor and ceiling of any offense he’s ever been in has been committed. (These on-off differences don’t lie.)

Towns makes a lot more sense next to the remaining Nova crew than Randle does, which is probably what the Knicks are telling themselves. Anunoby can check a pair of fives to keep him out of the pick-and-roll if the Knicks move him to center. But KAT for a long time in the play-offs among the five proposals does not work very well. Imagine him taking a Celtics five-out, or being forced to guard Joel Embiid, or trying to protect the rim and rebound while Giannis Antetokounmpo tries to attack it every 30 seconds. Offenses have him and Brunson guarding ball screen after ball screen. Maybe they’ll survive (having Mikal Bridges, Anunoby, and Josh Hart will obviously help), but it’ll be a grind.

And then there’s that contract, and all the ways it limits New York’s flexibility. Even with Brunson’s generous pay cut, Anunoby and Towns account for a significant portion of the cap, with an extension for Bridges in the works. They’re not stuck in the second platform forever, but they’re a pricey bunch with little ability to make a meaningful upgrade or move elsewhere if necessary. (Even after (In the 2025 draft, the Knicks cannot trade any of their own first-round picks.)

On the eve of training camp, with the realistic end goal of an NBA title, both teams must now discover a new identity. For the Timberwolves, it is an unnecessary risk for purely financial reasons. For the Knicks, it’s a big gamble on a flawed star who has one of the least attractive contracts in the league. Neither scenario usually ends well.