Knicks monitoring Karl-Anthony Towns

The Timberwolves’ trip to Madison Square Garden on Saturday night brought much more intrigue than a normal preseason game. This is due to a report from Stefan Bondy of the New York Post that the Knicks are monitoring Karl-Anthony Towns’ situation in Minnesota in case he becomes available on the trade market.

A potential deal with the Wolves would reunite Towns with Tom Thibodeau, who coached him for two and a half seasons in Minnesota. It was early in Towns’ career and their relationship was often tumultuous, but sources tell Bondy that Thibodeau would welcome the chance to coach Towns again.

“Looking at the progress he’s made throughout his career, he’s as gifted as ever,” Thibodeau said. “When you look at an offensive player, especially a big one, the skills that he has, I think we’ve all seen it, to win the three-point game and stuff like that, there’s nothing he can’t do offensively. He continued to improve, I think. He had some injuries to deal with. I saw him play in FIBA (the World Cup, for the Dominican Republic), he played really well there. He’s really, really gifted”.