Karl-Anthony Towns says Leon Rose has brought ‘excitement’ to the Knicks, calls Tom Thibodeau a ‘winner’
NEW YORK -- New Jersey native Karl-Anthony Towns is back home for a preseason game with the Knicks and is getting a chance to enjoy some of his favorite pizza at Joey D’s and Fratelli’s in Piscataway.
“I mean, I’m home, so just to be able to be home and see my family, my friends, eat food I grew up eating, Jersey pizza as well, so it’s always an exciting time to come back here at the Garden,” Towns, wearing a Yankees cap, said at shootaround Saturday morning at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks will host Towns and the Timberwolves Saturday night (7:30, MSG Network).
The 7-foot former St. Joe’s-Metuchen and Kentucky star, who is seemingly always linked to trade rumors to his hometown Knicks, heaped praise on team president Leon Rose -- Towns’s former agent with CAA -- and his former coach Tom Thibodeau.
“They made multiple playoffs, made some good runs, brought hope and excitement to the Garden,” Towns, 27, said. “I don’t think [Rose] has done a bad job.”
As for Thibodeau, Towns’s former coach and team president in Minnesota, the big man said he and Thibs are cool and made peace during a conversation several years ago. Thibodeau coached Towns on the Wolves from 2016-19, but Towns and Jimmy Butler had what was considered a toxic relationship and Thibodeau was fired midway through the 2018-19 season.
“I ain’t got no problem with Thibs, we’ve been squashed out,” Towns said Saturday. “I still look at Thibs as one of the best X’s and O’s guys I’ve been ever able to play for. He’s a winner, he’s a coach that breeds winning and I got nothing but respect for him.”
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Asked how they “squashed out” their issues, Towns said, “It was a conversation, two grown men got together, had a conversation, that was done. It was done years ago.”
Thibodeau, who last year led the Knicks to their first playoff series win since 2013, praised Towns’s talents during practice on Friday.
“Watching the progress he’s made throughout his career, he’s as gifted as they come,” Thibodeau said, per the NY Post.
“When you look at an offensive player, particularly a big, the skill set that he has, I think we all saw, to win the 3-point contest and stuff like that, there’s nothing he can’t do offensively. He has continued to get better I think. He had some injuries to deal with. I watched him play in FIBA [the World Cup, for the Dominican Republic], he played really well there. He’s really, really gifted.”
Per the Post, the Knicks are “monitoring” a potential trade for Towns, who averaged 20.8 points and 8.1 rebounds last season while helping lead the Wolves to the playoffs, where they lost to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the first round after emerging from the Play-In Tournament.
The Timberwolves would likely have to struggle mightily for the franchise to consider dealing him in the future. Towns is slated to make $36 million this season and is signed through the 2026-27 season, when he will make more than $60 million.
For his part, Towns says he’s not distracted by the trade rumors.
“I just play basketball,” he said with a chuckle. “I play basketball, lace up my shoes, put the jersey that I put on and I go out there and compete at a high level so I don’t really get time to think about that. I got a job to do.”
Towns believes the Wolves are poised for big things despite the talent in the Western Conference, where the Nuggets are the reigning NBA champions and the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers are both wildly talented.
“I mean, just every day step onto the court and try to find that 1% we can get better every day,” he said. “Compete at a high level, leave it all on the court. I think after 82 games we’ll be very happy where we stand in the West so it’s up to just stay disciplined and stay dedicated to the crowd.”
With fellow former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards now arguably the best player on the Wolves, there have been questions about whether Towns will have an issue with ceding that position to the younger player, but he said they could share the mantle of being the team’s best player.
“Why not, why not? Towns asked. “He’s maturing. My job as a vet and as an older guy on the team is to help him in regard I can to reach his potential. If he reaches his potential, we both have a chance of winning here so I don’t know if the media’s trying to make bad blood but we’re not accepting that here.”
Towns also likes the fact that this year’s Wolves feature fellow New Jersey natives Kyle Anderson and Naz Reid.
“It’s always good, you have people not only who are Jersey guys but guys you grew up with at the same time,” Towns said. “Me and Kyle have played basketball for a lot of years against each other, and me and Naz have been on the same AAU team [Izod Sports U] when he was on the younger squad and I was on the older squad. It’s always fun when you have people you grew up with.”
For now, it’s time for some Jersey pizza back home and a game in front of family and friends at the Gardn. The trade rumors and playoff hopes can wait for another day.
“I’m just happy to play basketball,” Towns said. “I’m just happy to put some shoes on and be able to play NBA basketball and be able to play at a high level.”
