Karl-Anthony Towns needs a lot more help from Minnesota

In 2015 I wrote an article for GiveMeSport where I compared the two best draft prospects for the NBA draft that year. The two players where Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns. I talked about the season they had had with their respective college teams, their strengths and weaknesses and how they would translate to the NBA.

I predicted that Towns would have a better career since he had a more well-rounded offensive game and was a better defender and I think it’s safe to say I was right. Okafor started his career well with the 76ers, averaging 17.5 points and 7 rebounds a game in his rookie season, but after that, he has tanked. Now in his 5th full NBA season, he’s only managing 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds a night.

Towns, on the other hand, has become one of the league’s best centers. His career averages are 22.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on 53.4% from the floor. This season he’s averaging 26.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and…3.3 made 3-pointers a game on 41.2% from beyond the arc. Usually centers are not good shooters, instead relying on their strength and finishing ability near the rim to be effective. Towns can do both.

According to the Gods over at Basketball Reference, Towns is the only player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and two or more made 3s a game on above 40% from 3-point territory. 

We have never, ever seen a center like KAT before.

Towns is a once in a generation talent, and right now he’s being wasted with the Timberwolves. Trading Andrew Wiggins for D’Angelo Russell was a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to maximise Town’s abilities. Here are my top 3 things Minnesota needs to do in order to be successful with Karl-Anthony Towns.

A good small-forward

This past decade it has become more and more important to have solid/great ball-handling wing-players if you are to win NBA basketball games and titles. The last 12 regular season MVPs have all been ball-handlers and the last 8 Finals MVPs have all been ball-handling small-forwards. 

These types of players win games because they can control the play since they have the ball in their hands a lot, but they are tall enough to assert their dominance physically as well. The Timberwolves need to follow this trend immediately if they are to be of any significance going forward.

Andrew Wiggins is a good small-forward. He’s averaged just 20 points a game for his career, but he doesn’t have a good outside shot and he isn’t a good ball-handler like LeBron or Durant, so he was never going to be effective alongside a center like Towns.

Shooters

Even though Towns is an unbelievable shooter, the Wolves really suck at shooting the 3. They currently rank 29th in the league in team 3P% at 33.2%. Today’s NBA is predicated on floor-spacing, shots at the rim and fast-paced offense, so if you can’t hit the 3 you may as well not even try.

Their new additions of Russell, Beasley and Hernangomez have started off on fire from behind the arc with each player shooting above 42%. I expect that to drop off as the season progresses. This summer the Wolves need to add consistent 3-point threats to their roster so that the floor is spaced on offense, allowing for easy, efficient shots at the rim.

A good Coach

I’m usually not a fan of how often coaches in all sports are scapegoated when their teams aren’t doing well. The coach can only do so much, it’s up to the players to go out and play. Coaches are blamed because they aren’t the talent fans and consumers pay to see.

Nobody watches the Lakers to see the coaching of Frank Vogel. Sure, he is a good coach but it’s LeBron and Anthony Davis you want to watch. 

In Minnesota’s case the coaching is a problem. Ryan Saunders is very in-experienced, this is only his 2nd season as a head coach. Right now the Wolves need a leader, someone with the expertise to bind the players together through the tough times ahead.

Minnesota is a franchise struggling to get itself off the ground. They’ve only been to the Playoffs once in the past 16 years (2018), and they lost in the 1st round. There is a losing culture that has taken root in the team that needs a lot of work to get rid of.

Towns can be the player to spearhead that culture change, but only if he is given the right tools to do so. 

The rest is up to the Wolve’s front-office to sort out.