The New York Knicks have been one of the most active teams in the trade market over the last few seasons. After acquiring Josh Hart and OG Anunoby in back-to-back NBA trade deadlines, the team landed Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in a pair of blockbuster trades in the 2024 offseason.
The series of moves suggests that the Knicks front office, led by President Leon Rose, isn’t averse to taking big swings with the intention of capturing an NBA championship. One such bold move would see the Knicks moving from Towns, who made the All-Star and All-NBA Teams in his first season in New York, but was criticized for his defense.
Sports Illustrated’s Thomas Carelli floated a Knicks trade idea that would see KAT join forces with Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio.
Knicks would receive: Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, 2029 1st Round Pick, 2031 1st Round Swap
Spurs would receive: Karl-Anthony Towns
How the Trade Helps Knicks
Carelli argued that the Knicks — who’ve committed over $500 million to Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Bridges and Towns — will benefit from letting go of one of their starters to navigate the NBA’s luxury tax rules. The writer believes his idea will enable the Knicks to maintain financial flexibility, allowing them to improve the roster in the future through the acquisitions of three quality role players and two draft assets.
“The Knicks are paying Karl-Anthony Towns a large sum of money,” he wrote. “This is $53 Million this year, to be exact. They may love to keep him, but when a price is so high, you sell your asset. This team lacks many draft picks in the coming years, so they can deal Towns, fill his gap with Sochan and Barnes, and continue to build for the coming seasons.
“The last thing the Knicks want to do under new coach Mike Brown is see their window quickly shut. They can either put their eggs in a championship basket, or continue to build up. Remember, this team has massive success without Karl-Anthony Towns.”
Towns, Wemby Fit Together
As for the Spurs, Carelli believes that putting Towns next to Wemby will be the perfect way to hide the sharpshooting big man’s defensive woes. During the 2025 NBA playoffs, Towns’ defense was a big reason the Knicks lost to the Pacers in the Conference Finals.
“The Spurs are in a situation where they can already win quickly. Between Victor Wembanyama and Dylan Harper, this team is one piece away for an elite big three,” Carelli argued. “There one weakness I would say is experience. By adding Karl-Anthony Towns, they gain this and open up Victory Wembanyama even further from too much big man attention.
“The Spurs also have expiring contracts in both Harrison Barnes and Jeremy Sochan. This trade gets them returns on players that would otherwise be gone for free. They can take on Towns’ contract, as so they will.”
The Knicks gave up 50.2 points in the paint during the 2024-25 season, largely due to Towns’ inability to protect the interior. Many analysts believe New York will run into similar issues in the 2025-26 season unless they shore up their rim protection.
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