NBA Rumors: OKC Thunder Could Trade Three Players And Four First-Round Picks For Karl-Anthony Towns
As the 2020-21 NBA season goes deeper, several crazy trade ideas continue to surface in the league. These include the hypothetical blockbuster that would send Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Karl-Anthony Towns to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the proposed scenario by Grant Afseth of NBA Analysis Network, the Thunder would offer a package that includes Al Horford, Darius Bazley, Aleksej Pokusevski, two 2022 first-round picks, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 first-round pick to the Timberwolves to acquire Towns, Jake Layman, and Jaylen Nowell.
The suggested deal should be a no-brainer for the Thunder, especially if they are already determined to speed up the rebuilding process and return from being a competitive team in the loaded Western Conference. It would not only allow them to dump Horford’s massive contract, but it would also give them an All-Star caliber big man who perfectly fits the timeline of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“The main struggle for the Thunder will be producing efficient offensive results with Chris Paul no longer leading the half-court attack. Landing a primary scoring threat that can stretch the floor at the five-spot like Karl-Anthony Towns would go a long way. It’s not particularly easy to find a stretch-five, in general, but let alone one quite as dynamic of a threat as Towns has shown to be. There is a real value in aggressively pursuing a relatively unique talent, especially since he’d be highly cohesive alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.”
Towns would be an incredible addition to their roster. His arrival in Oklahoma City would tremendously boost their performance on both ends of the floor. He would give them a very reliable scoring option under the basket, monster rebounder, facilitator, quality rim protector, and floor-spacer.
The Thunder likely wouldn’t mind losing four first-rounders in a single transaction since there would be plenty left in their war chest of draft assets. If they think that trading for Towns isn’t enough to put them on the same level as the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, the Thunder would still be in a strong position to engage in another blockbuster deal to give SGA and KAT the necessary help they need to carry the team to the top of the Western Conference and capture the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Meanwhile, as of now, there’s no indication that the Timberwolves are planning to move Towns before the 2021 trade deadline. However, if they struggle once again and finish the 2020-21 NBA season as one of the worst teams in the league, Towns and the Timberwolves may finally consider heading into different directions in the 2021 offseason. As Afseth noted, the proposed scenario would give Minnesota enough assets to build around Anthony Edwards, whom they selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
