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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves are sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round draft pick in a franchise-altering deal, a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday night.
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The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade, which was first reported by The Athletic, had not been finalized.
Towns, a four-time All-Star entering his 10th season, never hinted at any discontent with the team that drafted him first overall in 2015 despite several lean years preceding the run to the Western Conference finals last spring.
Active in the Twin Cities community, willing to defer the alpha role to young star Anthony Edwards, and unbothered by the move to a stretch power forward role following the acquisition of center Rudy Gobert two years ago, Towns did not appear to see this move coming three days before the beginning of training camp. The upside for the 7-footer is a return to his roots, having grown up in New Jersey.
The Wolves get an All-Star power forward in Randle, plus a sharpshooter in DiVincenzo coming off a career-best season and a first-rounder to offset some of the draft picks they sent to Utah in the trade for Gobert.
Minnesota president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has never been afraid of a bold move, as he proved by going big — on the court and off — in the Gobert deal. This might be even bigger, as the Wolves prepare for the challenge of trying to make it two steps further in the playoffs while the top Western Conference teams show no signs of letting up around them.
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