Iman Shumpert seemingly isn’t thrilled about a move that his former team in the New York Knicks recently made. The Knicks sent Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Keita Bates-Diop and a first-round pick in exchange for star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
Shumpert apparently believes that the Knicks still don’t have a player who can take over a game by himself come playoff time.
"I love [KAT and Jalen Brunson] on paper. … I don't love that at the end of the game in the playoffs. It's not scary enough."
—@imanshumpert on the new-look Knicks 👀 pic.twitter.com/aOAdNZYaeD
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 2, 2024
Ok Knick fans…I know yall want to say yall peace…ready, set, go! #knicks https://t.co/u3Ao3gZNA2
— Iman. (@imanshumpert) October 2, 2024
In Shumpert’s defense, Towns isn’t without his flaws. Namely, he is a somewhat inconsistent playoff performer. Towns has participated in the playoffs a number of times over the course of his NBA career, but he has averaged fewer than 20 points per game in three of his four stints in the playoffs.
One doesn’t have to travel all that far back in time to find a playoff series during which Towns underperformed. In the Timberwolves’ first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2004, he had a hard time finding the bottom of the net against the Dallas Mavericks. He shot only 37.9 percent from the field and 24.2 percent from 3-point range with a 2024 NBA Finals berth on the line, and the Timberwolves got sent home in five games.
While Towns has a history of shaky playoff performances, there’s also a lot to like about his game. He’s one of the greatest 3-point shooters of any 7-footer who’s ever played in the NBA. The 28-year-old is a career 39.8 percent 3-point shooter on 4.3 attempts per contest, and he knocked down an impressive 41.6 percent of his 3s during the 2023-24 regular season.
Towns is arguably a better interior scorer than he gets credit for as well. His offensive skill set might not resemble that of a traditional big man’s, but he shot 67.8 percent at the rim on 304 field-goal attempts in the 2023-24 campaign.
New York’s acquisition of Towns might make the Knicks one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference on paper. The Knicks could be one of a select group of teams in the conference that has the talent level necessary to challenge the Boston Celtics, the defending NBA champions.
