Karl-Anthony Towns shines in return to town | Lakers looking for trades?

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What happened during Karl-Anthony Towns' return to Minnesota?

Dave DuFour 1:13
John Krasinski live from Wolves, Knicks, Carl Anthony Towns, big return to town after being traded away to the Knicks. And man, Zena, this game at times, I just felt like. I was confused by what the wolves were trying to do. I was shocked that Carl Anthony Towns played like this. And the game got a little bit boring after a minute.

How did the Timberwolves perform against the Knicks?

Zena Keita 1:40
Yeah, I don't think I I was watching the game started with a solid like, oh, look, Timberwolves got it together. They're showing up. And I think I fell asleep towards the third, woke up at the top of the fourth. So, yeah, it was tough. It was a tough watch.
Dave DuFour 1:54
Well, John, you were there. You've covered this team for a long time. You've covered Carl Anthony Towns for his entire career. I want to ask you just personally, what was it like having him back in Minnesota and then to see him come through with this sort of performance? I mean, just the statistics are pretty incredible. Tom Thibodeau, it was just effusive in the praise that he gave him. And I do want to put the numbers out there because I do think they're important. 32 points, 20 rebounds, six assists, two steals, five of five from three. Man, that would have looked good on the Wolves tonight.
Jon Krawczynski 2:31
It sure would have, Dave. I mean, you know, you're right. I've covered him his whole career. I've heard him disparaged, discounted, knocked down his whole career. And some of it has been valid, the criticism that he's gotten, certainly. But I've always felt like a lot of people didn't really look at the full context of who he is as a player, what the Timberwolves did and didn't do around him. And And to see him kind of return here and absolutely lay waste to the Timberwolves was just a weird feeling. You know, I went to New York for the preseason game with them. And so I've seen him in a Knicks uniform before, but to see him in a Knicks uniform again, at Target Center, it was definitely weird. It's kind of like, this is really happening. And there he was.
Jon Krawczynski 3:24
I remember when he was a baby-faced 19-year-old kid coming in as a number one overall pick and kind of going through all of the things, both positively and negatively, that he did. And now it does appear that in year 10, coming off of a Western Conference Finals run, with a really good team around him now, that he's just... really settled into who he is as a player and he looks just incredibly dominant. And it was a glaring thing because everything he did tonight is exactly what the Timberwolves lack right now.
Zena Keita 3:58
It was so awkward to see the way that Kat showed back up in town. 30 points. I think he was the first player in NBA history to do what he did against the Timberwolves. Like, perfectly fitting. And then on the complete opposite side of the ball, we have to remember there was a trade made. And Julius Randle walks off the court, does not shake hands, does not engage with his old teammates. Like, the complete opposite experience, right, for the other person on the end of this. The Wolves have to answer to they lost the trade. And today they put it on national television. What is the answer for what we just saw, especially offensively, a.k.a. what we didn't see?
Jon Krawczynski 4:43
Yeah, I think it's I mean, they are searching right now offensively. And I think, you know, there's some glaring, glaring problems right now with the way that Julius Randle wants to be effective and the way that the team overall wants to do it. I mean, you're talking about a very.

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