Executives reportedly believe Karl-Anthony Towns may be out of Minnesota in coming years

The Kentucky Wildcats have been a stepping stone for several of the NBA’s best big men. From DeMarcus Cousins earlier in the decade to Karl-Anthony Towns now and with Anthony Davis in between, the Cats have consistently held many of the league’s top centers.

As for KAT, his lone NBA home has been Minnesota, but that may be changing up soon for the 27-year-old. Standing 6-foot-11, Towns has developed an efficient three-point shot and is also among the best rim protectors in the league.

There isn’t much the versatile big man can’t do, but his Wolves haven’t been great, having lost 4-1 to the Nuggets in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

With that in mind, some executives think Towns’ time in Minnesota may be running dry in the near future, especially with the Wolves having brought in Jazz center Rudy Gobert last offseason.

“Dealing Gobert will not return anything close to what the Timberwolves paid to Utah. Other competing executives think Karl-Anthony Towns will be long gone ahead of the 2024-25 campaign,” Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus wrote.

Towns will have his suitors if he opts to request a trade. Having signed a massive extension last offseason, the star center can’t really wait out till free agency as his contract is on the books for the next half a decade.

Towns is set to make just over $61 million with a player option on the 2027-2028 season. However, the future in Minnesota seems to run through Anthony Edwards, and the dynamic those two will have may set the precedent for how the team moves forward.

Trading Towns makes sense, and if his name is in the rumor mill, expect a deal to get done quickly.