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New York Knicks Acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns Affects Philadelphia 76ers.
This has been quite the offseason in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers acquired Paul George. The New York Knicks brought in Mikal Bridges. Klay Thompson left the Golden State Warriors to join the Dallas Mavericks. Now, there is one more blockbuster move. One that not many would have seen coming. According to Jeff Zillgitt on USA Today, the Knicks have reached a deal to acquire center-forward Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves. They plan to send Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick in return. Also, they will trade DaQuan Jeffries to Charlotte. It is believed that Towns did not request a trade. And while in the long run, an exit was expected, not many would have seen it coming this soon. Not after the run the Timberwolves had last year.
They are getting two very good players in Randle and DiVincenzo. But the belief is that the Knicks will be coming out stronger in this deal and are fully in win-now mode. The Knicks’ acquisition of Towns makes the East stronger. And it makes the 76ers’ path to a ring even more difficult. The Knicks and the 76ers met in the first round of the playoffs last season. The former came out on top
that time around in a 4-2 series although it was a lot closer than that scoreline might suggest. Over those six games, there was only one point between the two teams. They two look like genuine contenders going into the 24-25 season. But after acquiring Towns, the Knicks might have taken a step ahead of the 76ers in the race for the Championship. Of course, there is always the possibility that the move does not work. One cannot overlook that the Knicks are taking a risk here as well, tweaking with a unit that worked so well last season.
