Karl-Anthony Towns is finally the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves after the trade of Jimmy Butler. This brings freedom – but also a lot of pressure. How will the Big Man deal with the new role?
On Sunday the Timberwolves welcome the Memphis Grizzlies (21.30 in the LIVESTREAM on SPOX).
It’s a pretty eventful week behind Karl-Anthony Towns. On Friday he showed his best game of the season with 39 points and 19 rebounds against the Kings. On Monday, he continued his victory over Brooklyn with 25 points and 21 rebounds, but his success was overshadowed by Caris LeVert’s nasty injury.
We continued on Wednesday against the Pelicans, when Towns dominated especially in the first half and showed a certain Anthony Davis, that he can walk in his spheres (25 points, 16 rebounds and the victory). Towns turned 23 on Thursday.
And then, of course, there was something else. On Saturday the most annoying storyline of this season was finally finished. Jimmy Butler is gone – the Timberwolves are no longer the hostage of their former saviour. Towns is also free; the Timberwolves are now finally his team. Even if it remains to be seen whether this means something good or something bad.
Many protagonists have suffered under the butler saga. Butler himself, even if his wish was finally fulfilled. Tom Thibodeau, who now regularly hears at home games that he should be fired. Owner Glen Taylor, certified by franchise icon Kevin Garnett to know “shit” about basketball.
Last but not least, the young stars of the Wolves have also suffered damage. Andrew Wiggins and Towns were allegedly the main reasons why Butler wanted to leave and was willing to press this desire through with all possible means, even though the financial aspect probably played an even bigger role in the background.
Nevertheless: Towns and Wiggins embody, fair or unfair, the loser mentality in Minnesota from which Butler (“You can’t win without me!”) wanted to distance himself. Are they really that bad? Ultimately, the main thing for both of them from now on is to correct this image. Especially Towns has to show from now on which wood he is really carved.
For five years and 190 million dollars, the Big Man extended his contract in Minnesota in the summer, he is the one who should and must lead this franchise in the present and future. He has the skills to do so, and offensively there is hardly a greater talent in the entire NBA. But whether he has the mentality to do so is another issue.
Towns has been lacking a lot of effort and a certain understanding of the game on the defensive until now, which is now well known. He regularly dived up front, both last season and this season; although every man knew (even Butler) that Towns Minnesota’s best offensive option was, other players were much more involved – last season four Wolves recorded a higher usage rate than the former No.1 pick.
A bit is and was owed this to systems, but Towns has also not yet appeared as someone who asserts his claims vigorously. The bossy “leadership” style of Butlers seemed more demoralising than inspiring – Towns took a few steps back last season and the start of the season even indicated more up to Butlers Trade.
Beside the nonchalant Wiggins, the center seemed to be on its way to become the next highly paid underachiever without ambition in Minneapolis. Should this be the case, playoff participation in 2018 will probably remain the last for his franchise for quite some time. But she hopes that Towns will follow his recent words to ESPN with action: “I’m trying to bring another culture to Minnesota.”
KAT refrained from mentioning Butler by name, he had only spoken positively about his former team-mate so far. But you don’t have to puzzle for long to come to the conclusion that, as the team’s new leader, he wants to distinguish himself from his predecessor. “The most successful teams I’ve been with so far liked each other and had fun,” explained Towns. “This may seem silly, but it creates camaraderie.”
It’s actually a different approach than Butler’s. New teammates Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and Dario Saric have been greeted by Towns in coats so that the dreaded winter in Minneapolis doesn’t make them even sadder about no longer being part of the “Process” in Philadelphia.
Rather, the hope should be that they will become part of a new, equally successful process. Minnesota hopes for addition through subtraction, both characterwise and playfully. Covington in particular is anything but dominating the ball, but a good marksman, with whom he could drastically change the dynamics on the court and make room for Towns in particular to operate.
Now it’s up to this player to take over the released shares of the game. The Wolves are still not a bad team – players like Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, RoCo, Saric or Anthony Tolliver all have their qualities, Wiggins is still young (though frustrating) and Josh Okogie already plays a pretty good part as a rookie. Derrick Rose is an ex-MVP in the squad, who was one of the positive surprises of the young season before his recent knee problems.
Even though Rose retains this shape, neither he nor Wiggins should take more litters on average than Towns. The number 32 is the person who will ultimately decide whether Minnesota will crawl back into the lottery for years or whether something successful will emerge around him. The first two games were positive, quite defensive, but similar – or even better – things have to go on.
“If you sign such contracts and are the central building block of a team, then you have to deliver,” explained Tolliver. “He’s our best player. People expect 30 and 20 from him every night. That’s a lot of pressure, but it’s part of it.” Correct. And now it’s up to Towns to show that he can handle it.