One of the NBA&#8217;s best, young teams has entered the new death penalty of the league: &#8216;The Second Apron&#8217;. By trading for Rudy Gobert before the 2022-23 season, the Wolves prepared for an uncertain future, pairing Karl-Anthony Towns next to Rudy Gobert.
After playing his entire career at Center, Towns transformed his game to liken a Forward in today&#8217;s NBA. After a tense first season, the pieces fell into place in year two for the 56-win squad. Yet, questions remain regarding the Towns&#8217; future.
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Through nine seasons in the league, Towns has shot at a 40 percent or better clip from three in five different seasons. Towns outside-inside scoring style has opened the floor for Anthony Edwards to slash to the basket when needed, but more importantly, create a paint full of space for Gobert. Town&#8217;s career shooting splits of 52/40/84, show a truly remarkable level of efficiency for someone like himself. An unprecedented skillset for a big man, KAT is one of the league&#8217;s most underrated players.
The reasons to keep Karl-Anthony Towns feel self-explanatory. He&#8217;s been a franchise cornerstone for nearly a decade and is a part of a newly built winning core. Towns&#8217; shooting has become a weapon against defenses, and his defense is still improving. The playmaking has progressed throughout his career, and Towns feels more willing to do &#8216;whatever it takes&#8217; to win than ever before. But, there is no such thing as a perfect player and that sentiment remains true for Towns.
Towns still have questions defensively, both as a forward on the perimeter and as a center against some of the league&#8217;s best centers. Even though Towns has become one of the best shooting bigs to ever play and one of the better shooters in the league, he has a tendency to become overly reliant on his jump shot. Due to his reliance on his jump shot, KAT has many dry spells from deep, but doesn&#8217;t remove his green light. The biggest caveat with KAT is his four-year, $221 million contract he&#8217;ll begin.
While Minnesota is built to beat the powerhouse Denver Nuggets teams, the flaws on their roster were exposed by the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Even though the two-big roster construction of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert has been largely successful, there&#8217;s still lacking parts to the roster that limit Minnesota&#8217;s championship chances. As the highest-paid player on the roster, far exceeding the second apron, moving Towns might open up a longer title window.
Already over the second apron, Monte Morris, Kyle Anderson, and Jordan McLaughlin are notable depth pieces the Wolves will have to find a way to retain, which is nearly impossible under the new second apron CBA rules.
If Minnesota wants to return to the top of the Western Conference, trading Towns to better complement Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert into the future for the franchise. Plus, moving Towns gives Minnesota cap flexibility they will surely want for future contracts and drafts.

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Trust or Trade: Deciding Karl-Anthony Towns’ Future with the Wolves