Karl-Anthony Towns Rumors: Blazers, T-Wolves Not Interested in Trade for No. 3 Pick

Karl-Anthony Towns will reportedly not be heading to Portland.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported neither the Timberwolves nor the Blazers have interest in a trade that would send Towns to Portland in exchange for the No. 3 pick in Thursday's draft.

The Blazers have been shopping the pick ever since moving up to No. 3 in the lottery. However, Portland has seemingly set its sights high enough that the team won't even consider Towns, a 27-year-old three-time All-Star who would fit perfectly next to Damian Lillard in the starting lineup.

One has to wonder whether the Blazers are purposefully setting their sights at the moon, knowing their best long-term course of action would be to use the No. 3 pick on a young player and begin a rebuilding process. Portland has done its due diligence on trading the pick to placate Lillard, who has no interest in a rebuild, but has seemingly shown little urgency to get a deal done.

Fischer noted the Blazers have targeted Bam Adebayo, which does not make a particular amount of sense if Portland was serious about a deal. The Miami Heat just made the NBA Finals. If anything, they'll be more focused on adding a third star next to Adebayo and Jimmy Butler than tearing things down.

If the Blazers were serious about making a move, Towns is essentially as good as it's going to get.

From Minnesota's perspective, the front office put itself in a bind with the ill-fated Rudy Gobert trade last summer. Towns and Gobert do not work as a tandem, and that's especially the case with Gobert showing signs of regression last season. With teams unlikely to offer much in return for Gobert's massive contract, the only way to save face in terms of future draft picks would be to trade Towns.

It's likely Minnesota will have to consider some sort of move in the next 12 months given the fact Anthony Edwards is due for a max contract extension. The small-market club is not going to dive deep into the tax for a 42-win team, and jettisoning one of the two bigs if the most sensible way to cut costs and create a more coherent roster.