One of the benefits of being a fan of even a fringe playoff team like the Portland Trail Blazers is the national media attention; pundits the world over remember your team exists and start mentioning them in all kinds of hypothetical scenarios. One such comes to us from Stefan Bondy, Knicks beat writer for the New York Post.
Here is the deal in full:
On its face, this trade doesn’t sound too bad. Towns is just one season removed from two consecutive All-Star berths and provides the big man shooting that Portland so desperately craves. The addition of Towns certainly raises Portland’s floor, and both Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday would likely come off the bench of a fully healthy Blazers squad.
Blazers should pass on Karl-Anthony Towns
Examining Portland’s post-trade roster construction generates more questions than answers, however. What happens to Donovan Clingan? Is Portland ready to commit to Caleb Love as a backup point guard in the postseason? Could the Blazers feasibly weather the hit to their defense?
Towns has played power forward in the NBA; when Minnesota acquired Rudy Gobert, Towns shifted to the four, playing 64 percent of his minutes there. One of Towns’s five All-Star selections occurred in one of those years. Other than those two seasons, Towns has spent 99% of his minutes at center, including the past two with New York.
Donovan Clingan has improved dramatically since the start of the season, developing a palpable chemistry with his teammates and rapidly advancing on the offensive end. He is among the league leaders in rebounding and the unquestioned NBA leader in offensive rebounding. He’s also 7’2” and wholly incapable of playing power forward.
Towns playing his natural position in Portland means fewer minutes for Clingan, which dramatically reduces the efficacy of the Blazers' defense. Towns is on the wrong side of 30, and his days of playing the four may be over. Players rarely gain the ability to stay in front of defenders as they age, and playoff teams would hunt Towns on every possession. Conversely, Towns's time at that position would send Toumani Camara to the bench, further depressing the defense.
“Salary filler” is doing some heavy lifting here, as this mystery player might make the trade an easier pill to swallow. However, Towns for Holiday and Grant leaves the Knicks over the equilibrium point by approximately $9 million, so this ultimately feels like a non-issue.
Towns has two years left on his contract after this season, with his salary ballooning to an eye-watering $61 million in the ‘27-’28 season, the first year of a hypothetical Scoot Henderson contract extension and the last year of Clingan’s rookie deal. Add it all up, and the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze.
Grade: D