Report: Karl-Anthony Towns ‘Unhappy’ in Minnesota

Throughout their careers, Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns and Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker have been linked in more ways than one.

In college, the two were teammates on a 38-1 Kentucky Wildcats roster. These days, the two stars are on similarly struggling teams, with the Timberwolves sitting at 11-20 while the Suns are just one game ahead at 12-20.

Normally, when a player signs a 5-year maximum contract extension there is a brief grace period during which any anxieties about the future subside. One would expect Towns, who is signed through the 2023-24 season, to be relatively content for the time being.

And yet the floodgates have opened, and the rumors have begun. A new report from Ethan Sherwood Strauss of The Athletic suggests that KAT is “unhappy” with his situation in Minnesota.

As Strauss writes:

“The Warriors have been monitoring Karl-Anthony Towns’ situation in Minnesota. He’s under contract until 2023-24 but has less reason than Antetokounmpo to be thrilled with his team’s trajectory. This was a topic among multiple team executives at the G League showcase, with a few relaying word that Towns is unhappy in Minnesota. The Wolves currently sit at 13th in the Western Conference, two spots ahead of the gap-year Warriors, looking at another lost season. While the Wolves might dream of a scenario where Russell teams up with his good friend Towns, the Warriors have a differing vision of how a trade between the two franchises could seek out.”

If you’re wondering how D’Angelo Russell fits into all of this, you may recall the stated intention of Towns, Russell and Booker that the three of them will play together one day.

To this point, the trio hasn’t sorted out a way to make that happen. Nor is there any indication to this point that Minnesota would even entertain the possibility of trading Towns with him under contract for 4 more years.

But if the Warriors were to push hard to team up Russell and Towns, it would seem to give them the leverage to recruit Devin Booker as well.

On the other hand, the Suns could make as hard a push for Towns as any team in the league. Obviously any potential package for a superstar like KAT would revolve around last year’s first overall pick, Deandre Ayton. But from there, the Suns have many different routes they could go. They could toss in Kelly Oubre Jr. to help match salaries, and even entice Minnesota with a couple of extra first-round picks from there.

The point is that if Towns really does hit the trade market sooner rather than later, virtually every team in the league will compete for his services. But with an A-list prospect like Ayton and a plethora of future picks and other assets, the Suns have the potential to build as interesting a package as perhaps any other team.

And to contextualize what exactly Karl-Anthony Towns does for you in 2019-20:

The 24-year-old center is currently averaging 26.5 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists on 51/42/80 shooting. He’s shooting a career-high 8 three-point attempts per game but continues to knock them down at an absurdly high rate. KAT ranks 4th in the NBA in offensive BPM (even Booker only ranks 26th), and he’s 7th in VORP behind Harden, Giannis, Doncic, LeBron, Davis, and Jokic.

There have been questions to this point about whether Devin Booker is a superstar. There are no such questions about Karl-Anthony Towns.

What say you, Suns fans?