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What's the story?
The relationship between Karl Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves has reportedly grown icy.
In case you didn't know...
The Timberwolves finished 2017-2018 NBA season with a 47-35 record and booked a playoff for the first time since 2004.
The heart of the matter
ESPN.com's Zach Lowe reported, on his podcast "The Lowe Post", that Towns and the Timberwolves are "not in a good place internally". ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, who also joined the Lowe for that episode for a lengthy conversation, later postulated that Towns' name could surface in the trade discussions this coming summer.
"I don't think Anthony Davis is going anywhere any time soon," Windhorst said. "But Karl Towns...now that might be a different story."
Towns is not the first Wolves player to be dissatisfied with the events transpiring in Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins in March "whispered to teammates" that he was unhappy as he had become the Timberwolves' third scoring option behind Jimmy Butler and Karl Anthony Towns, according to 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson.
That said, Wiggins' usage rate (23.4) clocked in ahead of Towns' (22.9) and just behind Butler's (24.9). He averaged 17.7 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field, including 33.1 percent on three-pointers this season.
Still, the important thing to note is that there have been no such indications that Towns could be traded in the near future. These are just speculations that have risen within the organization that has been reported by a pair of league insiders who are looped in on fault lines.
What's next?
Barring a breakup this summer, the Minnesota Timberwolves will try to run it back next season with the same core group of guys since they already have $110 million in guaranteed salaries on their balance sheet for the 2018-19 campaign.
Author's take
The three Timberwolves stars need to fix their chemistry issues and come out strong if they want to have any chance of moving forward into the playoffs next season playing in a tough Western Conference.
