Why this trade makes sense for the Phoenix Suns
Anytime a team has a chance to acquire an All-Star talent they should take it, but they should be willing to give up anything and everything if that player is a once-in-a-generation type talent like Karl-Anthony Towns. There are virtually no big men in the league that can move and space the floor like Towns can and with Chris Paul and Devin Booker by his side, the Phoenix Suns would be almost impossible to stop offensively.
Not only is Chris Paul one of the best floor generals in NBA history, being able to dish out assists like it is nothing and get to his spots to be able to score, but Devin Booker is only 24-years-old and KAT is only 25-years-old.
Pairing these two guys up with one-another as they reach the primes of their careers could really be something special and make for the best younger duo in the entire league. Not to mention, this team would still have Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson as two young, secondary scoring options next to these guys.
Dario Saric has been great in his role off-the-bench for the Suns this season and there is no denying that DeAndre Ayton is a fantastic young center in this league, but he still has a lot of room to grow to reach his full potential. Towns does not and you know that you are getting a 20+ point, 10+ rebounds per night guys with him.
There are not many frontcourt players in the league that you can say that about, which is why giving up everything that they are in this trade package is worth it for Karl-Anthony Towns. With how good the Suns are, they will likely be picking near the end of the first-round over the next few drafts anyways and by then, they will not have a chance to draft a young, talented player with the potential to grow into a player like Towns.
Essentially, they would be giving up two late first-round picks, a pick swap in 2024, a young talent in Jalen Smith, a key bench player in Dario Saric and upgrading their center in a trade to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns. This move would immediately put the Suns in the conversation for being the best team in the league and set their organization up for a ton of success for at least the next decade.
Why this trade makes sense for the Minnesota Timberwolves
The only way this trade makes sense for the Timberwolves is if they actively look to trade Towns in the offseason. If they are not looking to trade him, then this trade makes no sense whatsoever, but if they do want to hit the “reset” button on their roster and move their perennial All-Star center, then this trade is actually not that bad.
Giving up Towns will definitely hurt their overall production, but getting a young center in DeAndre Ayton in return is a fantastic building block for them to utilize with both Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards.
Ayton is only 22-years-old and entering the league, was drawing a lot of comparisons to the great David Robinson. Now in his third season, Ayton has averaged 16.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and has shot 57.9% from the floor for his career, but he is only going to get better.
He currently ranks in the Top-10 in rebounds per game ranks 12th in the league in total double-doubles. Trading Towns and getting a young player with superstar aspects to his game in Ayton, as well as a key role player in Dario Saric, a young talent in Jalen Smith and a ton of draft compensation gives the Timberwolves exactly what they need to reset and get back on track as an organization.
Right now, the Timberwolves are in no position to be a contending franchise and while they have a really solid core in Towns, Russell, Edwards and Beasley, they are not going to be a championship contender or even a real playoff threat over the course of the next several seasons, which is why taking a step back and trying to build for the future is the right move to do.
If the T-Wolves do look to trade Towns, then the Phoenix Suns may be a good place for them to trade him to. While he would still remain in the Western Conference and they would run into him a few times a year, they could get a ton of return value from Phoenix, which is something that would be hard for them to turn down in their situation.