The New York Knicks are down bad and if we’re going to blame anyone, it’s Karl-Anthony Towns.
It gives no one any pleasure to point it out, but it’s true. Towns has struggled to adapt to his role in new coach Mike Brown’s pace-and-space offense and it’s all the more clearer during the Knicks’ current bad run. New York has lost nine of 11 and dropped to third in the Eastern Conference, eight games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. What’s more, the Eastern Conference is close enough that the Knicks are only 1.5 games out of a play-in tournament berth.
Something has to change at Madison Square Garden, and fast. Owner James Dolan not returning to his courtside seat after halftime in Monday’s blowout loss to Dallas, no matter what you think of the man, is a direct referendum on the team’s recent performance.
Now, in fairness to KAT and the Knicks, he isn’t the only problem. Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ collective motor, are playing on bad ankles. Landry Shamet finally returned to a streaky bench after nearly two months out with a shoulder injury. This all effects a high-paced offense like Brown’s, especially the streaky bench. It’s hard for the coach to utilize a larger rotation without clear and consistent second options.
Except by the numbers, Towns is also struggling. His scoring, rebounding, and percentages have all dipped, especially his three-point shooting. He’s shot 35.8% from three this season, four points below his career average and his worst since his rookie year. Foul trouble has also become a regular in his bag of tricks. His -0.3 defensive box plus/minus (DBPM) is his worst since his second season.
The cherry on top, and brace yourselves for this one: Since December 31, Karl-Anthony Towns is a net -66 for the New York Knicks.
So what do the Knicks do? Leon Rose and Gersson Rosas are surely working the phones trying to find some deals ahead of the trade deadline on Feb. 5. Could Towns be moved in a blockbuster move, a la the Carmelo Anthony trade almost two decades ago? And ideally without Dolan getting involved in negotiations?
Well, theoretically? Yes, they could, but it would be touch. Towns is in the second year of the four-year supermax he signed with Minnesota in 2022. He can opt out of his contract after next season, so he’s essentially an expiring deal waiting to happen. Teams would love to trade for a one-and-a-half year rental player who can be a double-double machine in the right system.
Could the rumors come true and the Knicks use Towns to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks? The former MVP is a defensive upgrade over Towns by a wide margin, but doesn’t have the shooting range. The Knicks also have to consider Mitchell Robinson. Can he and Giannis play together and be effective on the court?
There’s also cost to consider aside from Towns. A considerable amount of draft capital will trade hands, as well as other players. Maybe this is when the Knicks could offload the disappointing Guerschon Yabusele.
One way or another, Karl-Anthony Towns’ selectively showing up in beast mode isn’t working. The Knicks can’t keep ignoring his ongoing struggles to adapt out of his usual scoring big man role. With the deadline weeks away, it might be time to seriously discuss moving on from Towns.
And if no market materializes? Well, let’s just hope the Knicks are just having their own version of a Yankees midsummer slump.
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