Boston Celtics: 5 disgruntled young stars Cs could free in the future
By Chris Conte
Boston Celtics young star target No. 3) Karl-Anthony Towns
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a mess.
They have one of the most talented offensive cores in the league, with an all-time great offensive player at the head of it, and they can’t get anywhere near the playoffs.
On top of their poor defense, their supporting cast is to blame for these shortcomings. Outside of D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, nobody on the Timberwolves can hit the shots KAT creates for them.
According to BBall Index’s spacing metric, lineups around Towns ranked in the 39th percentile in spacing, and according to NBA.com, the Timberwolves ranked 25th in the league in 3-point percentage.
Given how many of those triples were wide open, that isn’t very good and not a recipe for playoff basketball.
Minnesota has a long way to go before they see the playoffs, and every year they come up short is a year closer to KAT wanting out.
Although he promised to play for the Wolves until he brought them a championship, it is unlikely he keeps his word. I doubt he makes it to 2024 before he requests a trade, seeing as the Timberwolves will probably miss the playoffs the two seasons leading up to that.
With that in mind, the Boston Celtics need to be prepared to absorb his $33 million salary and have the assets to trade for him.
He’s a top 15 player already, so in two years, the Cs need to be prepared to offer a package worth a top 10 player.
That could mean trading Jaylen Brown or trading all of the team’s other young prospects. It is imperative that the Celtics draft and develop right to keep Brown and form a big three with KAT.