The Knicks had some success in the playoffs before trading Julius Randle to the Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason, but their highlight was the second round, losing there in back-to-back seasons to the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.
Additionally, the last time the Knicks made it to the conference finals was in the 1999-2000 season, a year after losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the finals. That year, New York lost to the Indiana Pacers, who would go on to lose in the NBA Finals to hand Shaq and Kobe their first of three titles.
So, the team may have realized that Randle alone wasn’t the right player to pair with Jalen Brunson if they wanted to reach the conference finals, or perhaps beyond, and the Knicks made a deal to get the player they’d long wanted.
On the other hand, the Wolves had decided to officially hand over the keys to Anthony Edwards (which was the right move) in exchange for the dismissal of their longest-tenured player.
Towns had some growing pains upon his arrival, but has since bonded with his teammates and embraced his new role on his new team. This season, KAT is averaging 25.2 points and 13.2 rebounds, shooting 53.1% from the field and 45.0% from beyond the arc.