Adrian Wojnarowski Thinks T-Wolves Would Keep Karl-Anthony Towns over Management
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor would reportedly change the front office and coaching staff, led by general manager Scott Layden and head coach Tom Thibodeau, before allowing a trade that involved Wolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns.
On Tuesday, Jamie Cooper of Uproxx passed along comments ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski made on The Russillo Show about the ownership stance.
"I think their owner would trade management, the coach before he would trade Karl-Anthony Towns," Wojnarowski said. "I don't think they would allow that. I just don't believe they'd allow that kind of decision. And I don't know that they'd want to trade him."
The update comes after NBA reporter Brian Windhorst said Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN that other teams are monitoring the situation after an unsettled season between Towns and Thibodeau, per Dan Feldman of NBC Sports.
"I don't think that the Wolves are looking to trade him, but teams are definitely sniffing around as if maybe there's something here," Windhorst said. "They've already taken some calls on him. This is not new."
Wojnarowski doesn't see a Towns trade as a logical endgame for the T-Wolves, though. He said on The Russillo Show he believes Andrew Wiggins would be the team's top candidate to get dealt.
"That to me would be, if someone was going to get moved—and I'm not saying anyone's going to get moved—I think Andrew Wiggins is the one you're going to look at first," he said. "Because…you don't have to make a decision on Towns and Jimmy Butler and one of those guys having to take less on an extension, because you can't have three [max] guys."
Towns is coming off a 2017-18 season where he averaged 21.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range. He ranked 10th in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating, per ESPN.com.
The 22-year-old rising star's play dropped off in the playoffs, however. He put up just 15.2 points per game because of a sharp drop in his shooting percentages, which played a key role as Minnesota was eliminated by the Houston Rockets in five games during the first round.
It's unlikely those struggles are enough for the Wolves to give up on their franchise cornerstone.
