Bet under salary pressure! The whole story of the Townslander deal: Unfinished Champion Dream & Win-win now

(The original text was published on June 7, and the authors were the Timberwolves recorder Jon Krawczynski and the Knicks recorder James L. Edwards III on The Athletic website. The content of the article does not represent the translator's opinion)

On Friday night, September 29 last year, Towns was having a small gathering with his father and several friends at his home in the suburbs of Minneapolis when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Standing outside the door is Timberwolves' president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who brings a bottle of tequila as a gift, while some difficult news that must be informed in person should be conveyed.

The crowd gathered in the kitchen island, and Connelly told Towns bluntly that the Timberwolves had agreed to trade him to the Knicks in exchange for future first-round picks for Randall, Divinzenzo and a Pistons. The room fell into silence in an instant. Towns played for the Timberwolves for the first nine years of his career, and will report to the 10th year team training camp in two days. As the team's appearance tied with Edwards, Towns just helped the team return to the Western Conference Finals after 20 years. He understands the business nature of the league and understands that the team may adjust its lineup after losing to the Mavericks. But when the core lineup has not changed significantly throughout the summer, Towns is ready to continue to fight side by side with his teammates and launch another sprint towards the championship.

"I never thought of leaving," Towns told The Athletic in December, "but fate arranged a different path for me, and I was completely confused at the time."

The only one who was surprised was not the only one. Just a week before the deal was concluded, Connelly was satisfied with starting the new season with almost the same lineup, which was the team that lost 1-4 to the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. He knew that the Timberwolves would eventually face a salary explosion, but the deal negotiations with the Knicks had made no progress. Connelly understands that to trade players of the Towns level, it must be exchanged for financial flexibility and immediate combat power in order to keep the team competitive.

Until that late autumn Friday, the Knicks finally gave a satisfactory offer and the transaction was quickly concluded.

Four days ago, in New York, on the other end of the United States, Randall was giving back to the city. Over the past five years, he has given too much.

At that time, the people in New York gave him his last gift.

Randall stood on the temporary stage, surrounded by local community residents, Knicks legends and active players, as well as NBA president Adam Xiao Hua. Randall became the focus of the audience at the groundbreaking ceremony for Earl Monroe New Revival Basketball High School in the South Bronx. As a long-time supporter of the school, Randall promised through his personal foundation that he would donate $500 for every three-pointer in the regular season.

But this player who has been selected as an All-Star in his career did not know that some of the ceremony was set to pay tribute to him. Randall looked very surprised when the school announced that it would name the school basketball court after him.

"What a special moment," Randall sighed in the official Knicks Ins event video, "It's a great honor to be involved. These kids are creating extraordinary achievements, please continue to pay attention. What's even better is that I have a stadium named after myself, which feels so cool."

"Looking forward to meeting you again soon, the new season will be exciting."

Randall and the Knicks executives who came to support them came together to witness this moment. But among the more than a hundred people on the scene, only a few knew one secret: the All-Star player, who was in a deadlock in negotiations with the team for renewal, may have entered the countdown.

Just shortly after Connelly visited the Towns home, the Knicks' team had resumed work in Tarretown, New York. The annual media day event kicked off, and the team's lineup was significantly thin. Although the Timberwolves' trading agreement with the Knicks has been exposed by the media, it has not been officially completed yet. Every player and coach interviewed have to pretend to be ignorant of the heavy trade of the Shock League.

"We got Towns?!" When asked about the deal, Josh Hart looked at the team's public relations head in shock, "Wow! It was a surprise!"

This deal took several days to be finalized. At the moment of official announcement, two teams that were determined to go further in the divisional playoffs changed their appearance, and the final result was just as they wished.

The Knicks and the Timberwolves experienced their respective growth pains in the days, weeks and even months after the transaction. But both teams overcome difficulties and advance to the division finals: Towns became the key contributor to the Knicks' first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years; Randall showed the style of a top player in the playoffs during the Timberwolves' Western Conference journey where the Timberwolves successively eliminated the Lakers and Warriors.

In the end, one of the biggest deals of the season made a win-win situation. In this rare super deal, both sides seem to get the desired result.

"If I asked the management of both teams last year: 'The worst case is to stop the division final?' I think even with a higher goal, we may accept this result." Connelly admitted this week, "But the whole process is actually full of fun. It is really gratifying to see every player involved in the transaction perform well, not to mention that they are extremely excellent players."

Trading motivation tracing

On the eve of the training camp last year, the Knicks suddenly learned that center Mitchell Robinson's injury time would be far beyond expectations. The big man suffered multiple ankle injuries the previous season. At first, the Knicks thought he could catch up with the opening match of the new season, and then his comeback was postponed to December, and eventually to February of the following year.

Knicks management has placed a heavy bet on the existing lineup, aiming to become a real contender in the East. In December last year, the Knicks exchanged Barrett, Quickley and a second-round pick from the Raptors for Anunobi, and signed a five-year, $212 million contract extension with him in June last year..

"When we were in the desperate situation of the playoffs, we always believed that we would not lose." Towns said, "If you want to go further, you must have this belief. We proved this in this round of series, and we can always find a way to win in the last moment. But this is more special. We can reverse when we are more than 20 points behind, which is a portrayal of team spirit." The win-win transaction

results show everything.

Timberwolves reached the division final for two consecutive years for the first time in history. Interestingly, after losing Towns, their offensive efficiency rose from 17th to 8th, but their defense slipped from 1st to 6th. He won seven games less in the regular season, but eventually reached the same height.

Although Divincenzo occasionally has fluctuations, he used a two-year, $24.5 million worth of contract to provide a tough shooter for the Timberwolves bench. "The fans made me and my family feel a sense of belonging in an instant," he sighed. "This is just the beginning, we have had an extraordinary year." Randall averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists in the first two rounds of the playoffs. He and his wife Kendra soon fell in love with life in Minnesota with two young sons and newborn daughter (just arrived last month). “I’m completely used to it here and even used to special experiences like March blizzards,” he said with a smile. “It feels cool, I might spend the summer here.” Although the Timberwolves’ achievements are exciting, there are still variables in the future. Randle has the player option this summer. His outstanding performance in the first two rounds of the playoffs originally gave him little suspense to renew his contract and stay with the team, but his poor performance against the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals (17.4 points and 3.6 turnovers per game, the team was eliminated 1-4) brought everything back to the negotiating table.

Connelly expressed his hope to keep Randle, but it was not ruled out that the Timberwolves would be closer to the championship through a blockbuster deal. “Maintaining financial flexibility is crucial to this season,” he admitted.

The Pistons unexpectedly entered the playoffs and also helped. The first round pick protected by the Knicks was cashed out (the No. 17 sign), which is of great significance to Ingober's trade for the Timberwolves, who lost their own first round pick.

Knicks undoubtedly achieved success this season: 51 wins have achieved the best record in more than ten years, and entered the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. Brunson and Towns were both selected for the best team.

But the team atmosphere was not excited by the breakthrough. In the second half of the season, the Knicks locker room always emphasized "let yourself down" and "sacrifice spirit", and this group of talented players never failed to form a stable chemical reaction. "The locker room is full of good brothers," said Towns, "I hope it will go further next year." The deal gave the Knicks the best record in decades, but management is still not satisfied. After losing to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Final G6, they fired Coach Thibodeau and will continue to chase the championship under the leadership of the new head coach in the new season.

The new head coach must solve two major problems: how to reverse the Knicks' negative net efficiency since January 1 and make up for the double-star defensive loopholes. It is not ruled out that the Knicks will continue to adjust their lineup after changing coaches. Considering only from the contract perspective, if the management decides to pursue bigger-name stars, Towns may become a victim.

But overall, Towns' first season in New York was a success: he entered the top 15 in the league, ranked second in the rebounding list with 12.8 rebounds per game, and even scored 20 points in the G3 in the Eastern Conference Finals to lead the reversal.

However, in the face of more than 50 years of desire to be without a crown, any changes may occur this summer. "Our only goal is to bring a championship to the fans." Knicks president Leon Ross emphasized in a statement to fire coach Thiboddeau that the most successful Knicks coach of the century failed to meet the standards after all.

Looking at the big picture, this rare big deal achieved a win-win situation. Both teams stood on the stage of the division finals and dedicated a wonderful journey to the fans. But they all understand that they are still "unfinished products" and are still short of the final puzzle from Ultimate Glory.

Original text: Jon KrawczynskiJames L. Edwards III

Compiled by: Li Taibai