Knicks' Tom Thibodeau, Karl-Anthony Towns reunite with useful experience under their belts
Karl-Anthony Towns, left, and Tom Thibodeau enjoy a laugh during a news conference announcing Town's selection as NBA basketball rookie of the year Monday, May 16, 2016, in Minneapolis. Credit: AP/Jim Mone
CHARLESTON, S.C. — It was January 6, 2019 when Karl-Anthony Towns put up 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to help the Minnesota Timberwolves to a win over the Lakers. Moments later, Tom Thibodeau was fired as head coach and team president, putting an end to a successful but tumultuous relationship.
Towns became an All-Star under Thibodeau, the duo combining to bring the franchise to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. And then it was over. But that was until Wednesday night when, finally cleared to officially join the Knicks, the two were reunited - both older, more mature and hoping to combine to lift the franchise to a place that they couldn’t have imagined back then.
The deal to bring Towns to New York brought them full circle. The cost — sending Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo as the centerpieces of a complicated trade — showed the belief that the Knicks and Thibodeau have in what they can achieve together. Towns is seen as the final piece for what the Knicks hope will be the franchise's first title in more than 50 years.
“He’s a lot more experienced,” Thibodeau said. “I think all those experiences teaches you a lot. He’s been through a lot of different things now, so he’s bringing all those experiences here. I think, as with most players, now he’s had experience [of] being deep in the playoffs. He knows what that’s like. As much as you try to prepare for it, until you go through it, you don’t fully understand what it is. I think his understanding is much further along now than it was in his second year in the league, and his skill set is so unique. I think he fits well with everybody.”
“We’ve got great players,” Towns said. “We continue to put the work in day in and day out and be the best versions of ourselves we can be every single day. We can do a lot of things.
“I mean, we’re just going to continue to work hard every single day. Never take one practice for granted. Just try every night to be the best version of ourselves.”
If that sounded very much like something Thibodeau would say perhaps that's no mistake. If Towns may have bristled at some of the demands as a young player in the league, the fences have been mended and a mutual respect was struck over the past few years. Towns has grown as a player, his shooting and skills now matched by smarts that helped the Timberwolves reach the Western Conference Finals last season.
And in New York he joins a team that oddsmakers have placed as one of the three favorites to win the title. Jalen Brunson was already an MVP candidate last season and, if not for injuries, the Knicks were a threat to win the Eastern Conference. But Thibodeau and Towns were on the same page as camp began, insisting that the focus is on the work now.
“I think, most importantly, to get to a position like that, it starts now,” Towns said. “It’s not during the season. It’s not, you start tuning up second half of the season after the All-Star break. It starts now. You’ve got to put the work in now. You’ve got to get your body, your mind prepared to play basketball that deep into the season. So, just staying focused, working on our discipline, working on our habits. I’m just here to amplify everybody as much as possible.”
On the court, Towns figures to fit well with Brunson, his 41.5% shooting from three-point range last season opening up the floor and his seven-foot frame providing the Knicks with a much-needed center.
But that is the mix on paper. Making it work and fit together - Towns melding his all-star and all-NBA credentials with the toughness and work ethic that marked the team last season - is still what must be proven.
“I just want KAT to be KAT,” Thibodeau said. “When you have good players, they all have to sacrifice. No one is doing this individually. So I think if we say that our ultimate goal is to play at a championship level, that’s gonna require everyone to sacrifice and put the team first. We need our entire team to do that, not just one particular player, and if we do that, good things will come.”
Towns seemed ready to join in, joking about the careful wording the Knicks took for days anticipating the trade being finalized — including Brunson joking, “Who is Karl?”
“The first thing I did, I walked up to Jalen and I introduced myself, told him my name was Karl,” Towns said. “And I know it was a struggle for him. I just wanted to let him know who I was and introduce myself as KAT, so it was fun.”
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.
