In a franchise-altering trade, the New York Knicks are close to acquiring four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a package centered around Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, according to reports on Friday night.

Minnesota would also get a protected first-round pick from the Knicks that originally belonged to the Detroit Pistons.

The deal is expected to be finalised Friday night, sources said.

Because the Knicks and Timberwolves are both operating over the luxury tax apron, more players and possibly a third team must be involved.

Towns previously played under current Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau from 2016-2019 and has been linked to New York ever since Leon Rose took over the front office in March 2020.

Towns, who grew up in nearby New Jersey, will pair with star guard Jalen Brunson to give New York one of the best inside-outside combinations in the league.

This would be the second major addition this offseason for the Knicks, who acquired forward Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in July.

Towns has spent all nine of his NBA seasons with Minnesota and helped the Wolves reach the Western Conference finals this past season following a 56-26 regular season.

He averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds this past season and has averaged 22.9 points and 10.8 rebounds for his career.

Randle was a three-time All-Star with the Knicks as their starting power forward, a Most Improved Player winner and a two-time All-NBA selection.

He did not play in the playoffs after dislocating his shoulder on January 27, and after two months of rehab, opted to undergo season-ending right shoulder surgery in April.

DiVincenzo averaged a career-best 15.5 points last season for the Knicks and ranked third with 283 3-pointers made, trailing only Stephen Curry and Luka Dončić.