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Karl-Anthony Towns makes first return to Minnesota
Karl-Anthony Towns spoke with reporters after shootaround Thursday and will face the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center for the first time since being traded just before the start of training camp.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Karl-Anthony Towns is back in Minnesota, but it’s going to be a much different experience this time around.
He slept in his Twin Cities home Wednesday night, and headed to Target Center for shootaround with the New York Knicks Thursday morning. For the first time in his career, he’ll
head to the visitors’ locker room in downtown Minneapolis and face his former teammates in a regular season game.
The two teams met in the NBA preseason, but this will be the first time Towns will be back on the Target Center floor in front of fans as an opponent.
"I just want to appreciate every second, every moment of this experience. It’s going to be great to see my brothers on the court tonight," Towns said after Thursday’s shootaround.
The trade
What we know: Just days before the start of training camp, Tim Connelly dealt Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Towns was the No. 1 overall pick by the Timberwolves in 2015 and spent nine seasons in Minnesota.
He endured a lot of losing before leading the Timberwolves to their first Western Conference Finals since 2004. But on the business side, something had to give. The team couldn’t afford to keep Towns, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert on max contracts, plus give other players the extensions they deserved. Somebody would have to be moved, and it was Towns.
Towns says he has nothing but love for the Timberwolves. Connelly went to his house to tell him about the trade before it broke on social media.
"I keep in very close contact with them, yeah. I watch, I’m an avid Timberwolves fan now, so I be watching a lot of the games when I get a chance. They’re still my brothers, they’re still my guys," Towns said. "Just because the trade happened doesn’t mean I lost love for them. My love for them is always going to be there."
How will Towns be received?
Why it matters: Towns was a fan-favorite with the Timberwolves, both for his acumen on the court and his work in the community away from basketball.
Towns will be introduced as a starter Thursday night, and the Target Center faithful will likely give him a standing ovation. He didn’t leave in free agency, and didn’t ask to be moved. He was hoping to make an NBA Finals run with Minnesota, but it’s the business of basketball.
He’ll get applauded, and there might even be a tribute video.
His former teammate Naz Reid said Wednesday the reunion will be emotional.
"He’s been here for nine years, this is the first time he’s been on the other side so I’m sure it will be. I’ll be right there with him, he’s a guy who’s taught me the ropes, helped me get to the predicament I’m in today," Reid said. "Obviously you’ve got to compete, but he’s still my brother at the end of the day."