The New York Knicks plan to continue utilizing starting lineups featuring Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, but a trade for Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert could solve an underlying issue of relying on those looks.
Robinson appeared in a career-low 17 games in 2024-25. Moreover, he made 31 regular-season appearances the year before, limiting his otherwise tremendous impact.
This Heavy Sports trade proposal would land Gobert, albeit at a steep cost.
Knicks get:
- Rudy Gobert
- Terrence Shannon Jr.
Timberwolves get:
- Mikal Bridges
- Mitchell Robinson
The Knicks made a blockbuster trade for Bridges during the 2024 offseason. However, like Robinson, he is in the final year of his contract. The Knicks have an incentive to run it back next season. Several star-level injuries figure to have an impact on the Eastern Conference.
Gobert is just starting a three-year, $109.5 million contract, putting his deal on the same or similar timelines as Towns and Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby.
However, a trade for Gobert could be a major upgrade for the Knicks.
Rudy Gobert Could Be Major Trade Upgrade For Knicks
Robinson has one 70-appearance season, which was in 2021-22. He has made fewer than 60 appearances four times and broken that same barrier three times in his career due to injuries.
Gobert has averaged 72 appearances since the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
Gobert, a three-time All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year, and Towns played together on the Timberwolves for two seasons before the Knicks acquired the latter in a trade during the 2024 offseason. The once-dynamic duo recently reconnected during a trip to France.
Brunson was also present in one of the photos Towns uploaded in the 10-image reel.
The Knicks finished with a plus-6.7 net efficiency differential when Robinson and Towns shared the floor during the 2024-25 regular season, ranking in the 83rd percentile, per Cleaning The Glass.
During their final season together, in 2023-24, the Timberwolves sported a plus-9.2 net differential, ranking in the 91st percentile, with Gobert and Towns on the floor.
Gobert has similar offensive limitations as Robinson, but complements Towns well.
Critical Issue With ‘Unique Player’ Karl-Anthony Towns Requires Similar Solution
Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach noted the difficulty of relying on Towns as a, if not the, focal point for a team with title aspirations such as the Knicks, notably amid the trade speculation that emerged immediately after the season.
“Towns is a unique player. A rare combination of size, strength and skill, he is one of the greatest shooting big men in NBA history,” Rohrbach wrote in June. “He is everything you could want offensively from a modern-day, floor-spacing center.”
“He also cannot defend.”
Enter Gobert, who can make up for a host of Towns’ defensive issues as a deterrent at the rim, and a willing, although often ineffective, dump-off option on offense.
The Timberwolves would get a replacement for Gobert, but also shed salary. They gave hefty deals to current backup center Naz Reid and former Knicks star Julius Randle. They would face similar financial questions next summer, though.
Minnesota could also balk at including Shannon, but Leonard Miller would also suffice.
