Knicks acquire Karl-Anthony Towns, send Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Wolves

The West just got a tad bit weaker.

Just a few days before preseason begins, a major trade has shaken up the NBA.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, the New York Knicks acquired Karl-Anthony Towns and has sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Knicks acquire Towns to essentially be their Isaiah Hartenstein replacement and upgrade to Mitchell Robinson, who is out till December or January from rehabbing an offseason ankle surgery. Towns will provide the Knicks’ offense with a much-needed boost; his potential partnership with Jalen Brunson gives head coach Tom Thibodeau even more possibilities in terms of half-court offense.

Meanwhile, the Wolves lose a franchise cornerstone and focal point of their offense. Towns’ ability to stretch the floor as a big is arguably second-to-none in the NBA; the Wolves will most likely make use of Naz Reid to replace that skill set.

Nevertheless, the Wolves got worse from this trade – which means the Golden State Warriors have a bit of breathing room afforded them, although it may not be much. It must also be mentioned that Towns’ apparent availability in the market could’ve given the Warriors an opportunity themselves to acquire him.

At the very least, the premier stretch big in the league heads East, and the Warriors – historically a team that had trouble defending stretch bigs – gain a modicum of relief.