Amid a summer of rumors and speculation, Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns says “anything’s possible.” In a recent interview with GQ, KAT dished on trade speculation and his legacy in Minnesota.
“I’m blessed that I’ve found success in this league and I’ve gained so much respect from fans and opposing teams that the thought of doing whatever it takes for me to be on that team means a lot,” Towns about the rumors. “It shows a lot of respect for my game and the work I’ve put in. I take it as a compliment.”
All of the right people with the Wolves have said they want to “run it back” with Towns, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert in 2023-24. Naz Reid is also back after agreeing to a three-year, $42 million deal with the Wolves.
But as the roster for 2023-24 takes shape, Towns’s future remains in doubt because the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement will make keeping four mega contracts very difficult.
Next year is when deals get very expensive.
KAT will start earning on his super max contract (four years, $224 million) in 2024-25. Gobert is due to make $44 million. Edwards is likely going to get a max contract this summer that pays him upwards of $35 million in 2024-25. And McDaniels is probably staring at $25 million a year with an extension offer that could come very soon.
Add those four deals together and it would be $156 million. Toss in Reid’s $14 million and all of a sudden the Timberwolves are over the 2024-25 salary cap threshold that’s projected to be at $165 million. That’s less than half of the roster, so unless Towns or another big money player is traded, the Wolves will be paying the luxury tax.
“I just know I can control what I know and how my mindset is,” Towns told GQ. “I’ve said I want to do great things in Minnesota and nothing in my mind has changed that. They’re the ones with the cards. They’ll let me know how they look at me in my eyes and that’s where we’ll go from.”
Towns concluded: “I’ve been in Minnesota so long, anything’s possible.”
