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Following an excellent lone season at Kentucky, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Karl-Anthony Towns with the first pick of the 2015 NBA draft. Towns was able to make an immediate impact after making the step up from college and was named as 2016 Rookie of the Year following an impressive debut campaign.
Now 24, Towns has grown into one of the league's best bigs - and the Timberwolves star has made back-to-back All-Star appearances. Towns has long been touted as the future of the franchise, with the New Jersey native awarded a five-year, $190 million super-maximum extension with the Timberwolves ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Nevertheless, Minnesota has made just one playoff appearance during Towns' four seasons with the team - once again in danger of missing out on the postseason after a 13-21 start to 19-20. Recent reports suggest Towns is increasingly unhappy with the state of the franchise and should he push for a trade, here we look at three teams that should make a move:
#3 Golden State Warriors
The Timberwolves are known to be eager to complete a move to sign D'Angelo Russell - and in an ideal world, they would like to pair him with close friend Towns.
However, the Timberwolves don't have the resources to complete a deal for Russell while retaining Towns, and any deal will depend on their willingness to send the center to Golden State.
While the Warriors have recorded the worst record in the West this season, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will be back next season and Draymond Green put pen-to-paper on a long-term deal. The addition of Towns would be enough to put Steve Kerr's team among the favourites, while the Timberwolves could build around Russell and Andrew Wiggins.
#2 Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns have a number of talented young players, although after making a strong start to the season, they have quickly faded to fall out of the Western Conference playoff spots.
Devin Booker is posting increasingly big numbers, while Kelly Oubre Jr. is showing plenty of promise - although it is growing increasingly clear that the Suns need to make a big trade in order to establish themselves as a contending team in the West.
At 24, Towns is already an established star and would serve as a perfect fit alongside his former Kentucky teammate Booker. DeAndre Ayton would need to be included in any deal, but Phoenix will struggle to lure a better player due to their poor pulling power as a free agent destination, and the duo of Booker and Towns should be enough to cement the Suns as a constant presence in the playoffs.
#1 Boston Celtics
It is no secret that the Boston Celtics want to add a center, and the team was believed to be interested in signing Anthony Davis before his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics can currently call upon Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter, and Tacko Fall, although it is a stretch to suggest that any of the trio would ever be good enough to start for a contending team, and Towns would provide Boston with a world-class center who could develop alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
With Towns under contract for the long-term, the Celtics can also commit to giving up the likes of Marcus Smart and Gordon Hayward as part of a trade - and there is no reason why Towns wouldn't be able to grow into one of the NBA's best if he moves to a contending Boston team.
Guess the Lakers players!
