Karl-Anthony Towns expects Minnesota Nice return to longtime NBA home 

In the near-empty locker room at the Kia Center in Orlando, a spectacular 22-point, 22-rebound night and a win over the Magic complete, his postgame weightlifting done, Karl-Anthony Towns sat in his locker and struggled with a question that was more difficult for him to comprehend than any challenge on the court.

How would he feel and how would he be received when he returns to Minnesota Thursday night for his first game back after the trade just ahead of training camp that shocked him and much of the NBA?

“You say this like I’m used to this,” Towns said, still dressed in remnants of his Knicks uniform with an ice bucket in front of him. “I’ve seen people traded. I’ve never been traded. Yeah, I don’t know. But we got a win to get so I better handle it accordingly for sure. Like I said, I don’t know, I can’t imagine myself even in a situation like this but here we are."

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who covered Towns throughout his time with the Timberwolves, told a story following the trade that should provide an indication. In the hours after he’d been traded from Minnesota in early October, ending his nine-year run there, Towns drove out to a sports complex to watch a U-12 soccer tournament game he promised he’d attend. While he was processing the life-altering event, the deal that would send him back close to his New Jersey roots, he kept a promise and as the kids crowded around him, one little girl offered, “Maybe one day you will come back.”

Perhaps it’s not the way the little girl imagined, Towns now wearing the blue-and-orange of the Knicks, but he will come back with no ill will — and likely none from the fans in the city where he spent most of his professional life.

In those nine seasons there were the highs and lows of NBA life. Drafted No. 1 overall in 2015, he — along with Tom Thibodeau, who took over as coach and president in Towns' second season — brought the Timberwolves to the postseason for the first time in more than a decade, became an All-Star, and when he left it was not his choice. He’d committed to a huge contract extension and saw himself spending the rest of his career there.

But with a ballooning payroll and a young star in Anthony Edwards, Minnesota finally stopped resisting the overtures of the Knicks front office and moved him for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Both teams, title contenders last season, have endured learning curves, but the Knicks (16-10) could not have expected anything more than they’ve gotten from Towns.

Shifted back to center in New York, Towns leads the NBA in rebounding at 13.9 per game — the highest figure of his career. He is averaging 24.8 points and has posted 15 consecutive double-doubles. He is averaging 34.3 minutes per game, the most since — as you might expect — he played for Thibodeau in Minnesota.

So now he heads back for the first time, uncertain of what to expect, but sure of what he feels about his time in Minnesota.

“I don’t know. But I know that every single day that I put on that Timberwolves jersey I gave the absolute best of me even when I wasn’t 100%,” Towns said. “I gave them all of me mentally, physically, spiritually. I was there nine years, so I go there with a lot of pride and joy for the memories that I have.

“I know the last time I was there, I looked myself in the mirror and I knew I gave the state, the city, the organization over there everything I could possibly give and even found myself giving more than I thought I had. So I was proud of the man that I presented over there in a Timberwolves jersey. You never know how the fans will respond. But I know for me, my household, I know what I gave that organization, and I am happy and proud for what I was able to do.”

Towns' fit has been aided by a willingness to fit in. Whether in interviews or shouting across the locker room, he refers to Jalen Brunson as “Cap,” acknowledging his status as captain and leader. Brunson went through something similar, leaving Dallas as a free agent for New York, and believes Towns will be treated with gratitude.

“I think KAT is at a different magnitude than I was when it comes to his former team,” Brunson said. “Obviously Dallas meant a lot to me, but KAT has been there nine years, he was an All-Star, he did a lot, took them back to the playoffs and all that. They’re going to have a great response for him coming back. I’m really happy for him. Besides that though, it’s just we’ve got to be ready, go and be focused.”

Randle, who is averaging 20.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 33 minutes a game for the 14-11 Timberwolves, will certainly be focused on attacking the team that traded him. DiVincenzo already had an on-court spat with Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson after a preseason game. So this will be something special for Towns, too, even if he won’t admit it.

“Every game is circled,” he said. “Every game is important. It will be cool to be in the house.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.