GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Minutes after star big man Karl-Anthony Towns was photographed Monday stepping out of a sport utility vehicle and into the Knicks’ training facility — while wearing a Knicks fitted cap, no less — his soon-to-be teammates played coy about his pending trade to the club.
“Who’s Karl? I have no idea who that is,” guard Jalen Brunson said as he spoke with reporters during the team’s annual media day.
Knicks wing Josh Hart followed suit a few minutes later, asking, “We got KAT? Wow,” after a reporter asked for his take on the reported trade, which is expected to be finalized early this week, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
The trade isn’t official yet, so it wasn’t surprising that members of the team would initially punt on commenting about the pending blockbuster with the Timberwolves — one that’s set to make the four-time All-Star a Knick, while two-time All-NBA forward Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo are on the move to Minnesota.
But the ordeal made for some humorous moments.
Writers, eager to elicit thoughts from Brunson, sought to find creative ways to get him to speak candidly on what the move for Towns might mean for the Knicks. One asked Brunson to describe what it was like for him in Dallas when he shared the court with Kristaps Porzingis, a floor-spacing, pick-and-pop big man like Towns.
“Uh, it’s obviously a different dynamic. It gives us a different weapon,” Brunson said with a smile. “The [point guard’s] reads are definitely different. You still have to see how the defense is reacting to different situations. But yes: There’s a difference. And we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
The pending deal is a rare one in several ways. It’s uncommon to see a pair of All-Stars in their prime get traded for another, let alone when both teams are title contenders. Minnesota reached the Western Conference finals. And the Knicks, coming off their first 50-win regular season in a decade, had already swung an enormous trade earlier in the offseason when they dealt five first-round picks to Brooklyn for wing Mikal Bridges.
New York felt compelled to bolster its center position after losing Isaiah Hartenstein to Oklahoma City in free agency and after realizing that Mitchell Robinson would likely miss the first couple of months of this season as he continues to recover from ankle surgery.
The Knicks were open about what they’d be losing with the deal. Randle, who averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists last season, joined the Knicks in free agency in 2018 and helped spur a franchise turnaround. DiVincenzo, who finished third in the league in 3-pointers last season, was one of the NBA’s most improved players and had impeccable chemistry with Brunson and Hart — two of his former Villanova teammates.
“That [aspect of the deal] was definitely tough. Julius welcomed me with open arms. That news was crazy,” Brunson said, adding that his father’s string of nonguaranteed contracts throughout his nine-year, eight-team NBA career taught him that the league is a business. “I’m really thankful for them, their friendships and everything they brought to the team. … And Donte, he was a groomsman in my wedding, so that should tell you everything you need to know about our relationship. … We’ll see them again soon.”
Minnesota and New York are set to square off at Madison Square Garden during the preseason Oct. 13.
The focus for now, though, will be incorporating Towns into the mix. Hart has already given thought to the ways the center would fit within the Knicks’ plans, pointing out his willingness to take a back seat to emerging superstar Anthony Edwards in Minnesota — something that could make him a more natural fit with Brunson once he formally joins the roster.
“KAT is an amazing player — someone who will be really good in terms of spacing, knocking down shots, blocking shots,” Hart said. “We’re extremely confident in what we have, both officially and unofficially.”