Just how bad was Karl Anthony Towns this postseason?

[AbeVigodaLive]

The Timberwolves won a playoff series for only the 2nd time in 35 years... winning two series. But apparently, that was despite Towns sucking balls.

Seth Partnow is a writer for the The Athletic. He has a national platform. He recently ranked players after the postseason, in part on how they performed in the playoffs. Town's stock DROPPED after the Wolves finally made it to the WCF. In fact, he dropped behind guys like Khris Middleton. In a column on TheRInger, Logan Murdock had this: "Karl-Anthony Towns, who did little to prove his value as a second star beside Anthony Edwards during the postseason..."

During the first two rounds...

19 ppg
9 reb
3 ast
52/44/89
Reduced TOs from 2.9 to 1.9 per game from regular season.
He also was given credit (at the time) for covering Jokic while a large chunk of the media/random fans ripped Gobert for being a fraud.

----

But Towns shot very poorly for 3 games vs. Dallas in the WCF. And it's fine to rip him for that. Just how much is too much? The guy is such an easy target, I get that (I'm not even much of a fan).

And I get that it's just two guys. And, "who cares." But it's not just those two guys. And the way the NBA is marketed and conducts itself in 2024... we can't really go with the "who cares" approach either. Especially when the NBA is actively promoting off-court gossip and clickbait opinions over actual on-court performance (just check out ESPN's halftime panel coverage during the NBA Finals as proof). It's basically impossible for diehard NBA fans to ignore this stuff at this point. It's omni-present.

It's all interesting to take in. Especially since it seems as though the Wolves have two of the league's easiest and laziest derogatory targets... and one of the league's most prized darlings who can do very little wrong.

Gobert and Towns are very very bad.
Ant Edwards is very very good.

Does it matter? Maybe. Consider that Towns probably has to be traded. While I know GMs make the call on a trade, they don't do it in a vacuum. After all, their jobs are on the line and a vocal displeased fanbase doesn't add a ton of confidence. Whether a little or a lot... narratives have impact in the NBA... maybe now more than ever.

[thedoper]

I dont think its just this year, but this was the first year we saw him in more than one series. His career playoff averages are well below his regular season averages. Towns is the perfect example of a shrinking violet. This is why I do not call him a star. Stars by my definition improve as pressure mounts. Towns is the opposite.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I dont think its just this year, but this was the first year we saw him in more than one series. His career playoff averages are well below his regular season averages. Towns is the perfect example of a shrinking violet. This is why I do not call him a star. Stars by my definition improve as pressure mounts. Towns is the opposite.

While I agree about most of that... and I think Towns MUST be traded at this point... the two situations I alluded to were indeed based on only this year. Even after the Denver series, other guys on national platforms listed Towns's contributions ONLY after listing multiple caveats.

It is what it is.

But it doesn't help his trade value. And it's often just lazy takes from people who make A LOT more money than we do talking about the NBA.



[Note: Maybe I'm just jealous I don't have a national platform to profit from my NBA takes. Here I am... still giving my harebrained thoughts and DVR musings for free after many, many years.]

[Q-is-here]

I evaluate KAT's role as the 2nd option on a contending team, with Ant clearly being #1. So with that in mind, how did KAT compare to Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving, and Pascal Siakim, the second options of the other "Final Four" NBA teams?

My feeling is he legit outplayed Kyrie Irving as a 2nd option when you look at the playoffs as a whole. And he was probably just a notch below Jaylen Brown, who really stepped it up in the Finals. I'd say KAT was just as good or slightly better than Siakim, especially when you consider who he had to guard in those first two series.

In other words, KAT held his own as a 2nd option and was presented with a couple of immense defensive challenges in the first two series.

Unfortunately, I feel like our bench let us down the most along with Ant running out of gas.

[BloopOracle]

I thought he played average I guess, would've liked better offense. The exceptional difficulty of his defensive matchups and eye test pushes my view to neutral.

[Coolbreeze44]

Not every game, but overall he left me wanting/expecting more.

[Q-is-here]

I thought he played average I guess, would've liked better offense. The exceptional difficulty of his defensive matchups and eye test pushes my view to neutral.

Neutral is where I'm at too. Like Cool, I wanted more from him and got frustrated as hell sometimes with him, but then you compare him to guys like Brown, Irving and Siakim and you realize he's punching at their weight in terms of playoff performance.

[60WinTim]

Jonny K said KAT's knee was really bothering him in the Dallas series.

I don't think there is a basketball reason to move KAT. He can give you some offense, and I am not sure we make through either of those first two rounds with out his defensive matchups he was able to provide. The question is this:

Can the Wolves roster construction with the given salaries be sustained?

TC said in his closing presser that everyone is figuring out how the various apron restrictions are going to affect them. He indicated that ownership is willing to go into the apron(s) next season, but being a repeat apron team is not sustainable. So something has to give some where down the road. Of course, maybe a new TV deal helps the Wolves get our of apron hell...

I doubt KAT is traded this offseason, but if the goal is to eventually get out of apron hell, and KAT is the main cause of that problem, moving on from KAT seems inevitable.

[Q-is-here]

Jonny K said KAT's knee was really bothering him in the Dallas series.

I don't think there is a basketball reason to move KAT. He can give you some offense, and I am not sure we make through either of those first two rounds with out his defensive matchups he was able to provide. The question is this:

Can the Wolves roster construction with the given salaries be sustained?

TC said in his closing presser that everyone is figuring out how the various apron restrictions are going to affect them. He indicated that ownership is willing to go into the apron(s) next season, but being a repeat apron team is not sustainable. So something has to give some where down the road. Of course, maybe a new TV deal helps the Wolves get our of apron hell...

I doubt KAT is traded this offseason, but if the goal is to eventually get out of apron hell, and KAT is the main cause of that problem, moving on from KAT seems inevitable.

I don't think it can be sustained but it does feel like they will run it back at least this season. And if we fail to make the Finals or win the Finals next year, it probably makes sense to pull back on salaries and begin Ant's second window with the Wolves in earnest.

BTW...who says that Naz and Jaden are untouchable??? That's about $40M of salaries and they definitely have positive value around the league. While I know we all like to think of them as part of our second window core, neither of them are even among our current top three players yet (that'd be Ant, Rudy, and KAT).

[Wolvesfan21]

I've been on the trade KAT bandwagon more on then off for a few years now. I'd prefer to keep him at this point. He made progress during the regular season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs he was great.

That said, you either get it done and go all the way or you don't. Knee hurting or not. So I see the flip side.

I think due to his progress in both the regular season and in the playoffs we could possibly see an even slightly better version of him next year and in the postseason.

Now that said if you get a blown away offer on a guy or guys you like then sure. You pull the trigger. But I'd hate to see them try and salary dump him for a bunch of picks and expiring contracts. You proven to be a contender right now. It's not time to step back. It's time to press the pedal to the floor. Send it.