Karl-Anthony Towns on Trade Rumors: They Are 'As True or False' as T-Wolves Make Them

Karl-Anthony Towns isn't trying to leave the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he's not guaranteeing he'll be around next season, either.

"Future-wise, I see everyone is trying to sell my house but me. I'm gonna keep it simple. The rumors are as true or as false as Minnesota makes them to be," Towns said on the Pat Bev Pod.

The message is simple: If there's a trade, it falls at the feet of the Minnesota front office. B/R's Eric Pincus reported rival teams believe the Wolves will trade Towns between now and the beginning of the 2024-25 season—and do so of their own accord.

"Other competing executives think Karl-Anthony Towns will be long gone ahead of the 2024-25 campaign," Pincus reported. "Some even believe Minnesota would jump at an opportunity in the next few weeks."

Towns' four-year, $224.2 million contract extension kicks in for the 2024-25 season. He will be making more than $50 million annually over the course of that deal, peaking somewhere in the neighborhood of $62.1 million in 2027-28.

The Wolves are already paying Rudy Gobert more than $40 million annually after their ill-fated trade with the Utah Jazz last summer. While Minnesota would undoubtedly rather trade Gobert than Towns, the market for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year would be barren after a disappointing first season with the Wolves.

Given the struggles Towns and Gobert had playing together last season, the best way to move forward may be to break up the two big men.