The playoff bracket is now down to its final four contenders, and it seems noteworthy that two of those teams – the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves – were involved in a shocking blockbuster trade just a few weeks before the start of the 2024-25 NBA Season.

The Timberwolves, fresh off a run to the Western Conference Finals last season, had the audacity to move off their second-best player to acquire Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo (and a future first round pick). Meanwhile, the Knicks executed their second major marquee move of the offseason, adding All-NBA big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

At the time of the deal, the jury was hung on who won and who lost. But now, nearly one year removed from that transaction, we have a unanimous verdict: both teams won the trade.

Anthony Edwards is one of the game’s most promising young stars, and he’s already shown an affinity for rising to the occasion during the game’s second season. However, he isn’t yet a capable enough ball handler/decision-maker (58th percentile Passer Rating, per Thinking Basketball) to handle playmaking duties on his own for large swaths of the game.

Towns, for all his strengths as an offensive player, has always been more of a play-finisher than a play-initiator. So, his presence alone wasn’t enough to alleviate Edwards’ immense burden.

This left the Timberwolves’ with quite the conundrum. They could either a) play Mike Conley (86th percentile passer rating) to address this need and risk leaving themselves vulnerable on the defensive side of the ball (Conley’s small stature and advanced age make him an easy target to hunt) or b) play a stronger defender but take a massive hit in the playmaking/creation department.

Last season, the Timberwolves struggled to put together a balanced two-way lineup. However, with Randle, the team now has the ability to reach this ideal.

While not the finisher Towns is, Randle is a better passer and creator (see chart below). This enables the Timberwolves to use him as Edwards’ Robin and fill the closing lineup spot that was normally designated for Conley with one of their handful of three-and-D wings/forwards. And thanks to his increased buy-in on the defensive side of the floor, Randle isn’t killing the Timberwolves on that end either (49th percentile Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes).

Speaking of three-and-D wings, DiVincenzo gives the Timberwolves a better playoff bench option than Kyle Anderson, who the Timberwolves lost to the Golden State Warriors in free agency this past summer.

Anderson is bigger than DiVincenzo (6’9, compared to 6’5), and he’s a better defender (85th percentile DEF EPM). But his slow release (13th percentile in 3-point volume) makes him a liability on the offensive side of the ball. Meanwhile, DiVincenzo is a stone-cold killer from beyond the arc (39.7% from three this year) and a fierce competitor on the defensive end (75th percentile in DEF EPM). In the postseason, having great strengths isn’t nearly as important as not having damaging weaknesses, making DiVincenzo a superior option to someone like Anderson.

Towns may not be a good enough creator to be an adequate second fiddle to Edwards, but he is more than enough for Jalen Brunson. Brunson is one of the most high-usage players in the league (first in the NBA in time of possession during the regular season) because of his ability to consistently make the right read with the ball in his hands (97th percentile Passer Rating).

Brunson’s ability to play this heliocentric style means the threshold for ball handling the Knicks need around Brunson is far lower than what the Timberwolves need with Edwards.

What Brunson really needs is players who can space the floor and complete the advantages his presence creates. He needs players who can help him maximize his style of basketball.

Towns’ unmatched ability to finish sequences both from the perimeter and interior is a big reason why he constantly grades out as one of the best offensive players in the league. According to Stathead, Towns was the only player in the NBA to hit at least 100 threes, shoot at least 40% from three, and dunk the ball at least 75 times.

When Brunson and Towns shared the floor together in the regular season (1,464 minutes), the Knicks had an offensive rating of 122.2 (per PBP Stats). For reference, the Boston Celtics had an offensive rating of 120.9 when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were on the floor at the same time.

After losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency, the Knicks needed more depth at center, especially given all the question marks surrounding Mitchell Robinson’s health.

Towns helped captain the ship at the five while Robinson worked back from a foot injury that cost him the first 58 games of the season. And now that Robinson is back, Towns gives the Knicks some much-needed lineup versatility.

If they want to prioritize spacing and offense, they can run Towns at the five. If head coach Tom Thibodeau really wants to get after it on the offensive glass, he can use Robinson at center. And if the Knicks crave a blend of both, the two have the ability to play alongside one another (this double-big combination has proven to be a huge x-factor for them so far this postseason).

Unlike the games these players participate in, there doesn’t always have to be a clear winner and loser in a trade. Sometimes, both parties emerge on top.

In this case, the Timberwolves needed the ball handling/passing that Randle offered, and they are even more dynamic with someone like DiVincenzo in their ranks. Meanwhile, Towns amplifies the style their franchise player likes to rock while also addressing a glaring positional need.

Now, the two teams sit just a combined eight wins away from doing business together once more. Only this time, the battle won't take place over the phone. It'll be on the hardwood, with the winner earning the claim as the 2025 NBA Champion.