Julius Randle says he is happy to be at the Minnesota Timberwolves where he "feels wanted" but admitted feeling shocked by the New York Knicks trade.

He was part of a blockbuster trade, joining the Timberwolves with Donte DiVincenzo, as Karl-Anthony Towns headed the other way in a deal that was completed earlier this week.

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.

Last season, he averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, though he did not play in the playoffs after dislocating his shoulder on January 27 and opted to undergo surgery in April after two months of rehab.

Although he had initially been looking forward to another shot at the playoffs with the Knicks, he is now invigorated about joining another championship contender.

"It was a lot of emotion," Randle said. "You spend a lot of time living in one place, you know, New York, going there five years ago... A lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into that organization and uniform. Initially, it's always going to be a shock.

"You want to be somewhere where you feel wanted. I feel wanted here. At this point in my career, I've accomplished a lot of great things on an individual level, but I want to win a championship. This is a perfect opportunity to do that.

"[The trade] was a breath of fresh air. I'm excited to bring everything I've learned here over the past five years and help these guys out. My only thing here is I just want to help.

"I want to help [Anthony Edwards]. I want to help Rudy [Gobert], Naz [Reid] - all those guys. I want to help win a championship, and that's the only thing that matters."

The Timberwolves start their season against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 22, with their preseason beginning against the same opponent on Friday.

Karl-Anthony Towns bade farewell to the Minnesota Timberwolves as he completed a trade to the New York Knicks.

In a three-team trade also involving the Charlotte Hornets, Towns has joined the Knicks with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo heading the other way.

Towns, a four-time NBA All-Star, averaged 19.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last season.

Having joined the Timberwolves in 2015, Towns said goodbye in an emotional social media message.

"To the Timberwolves Family: Nine years ago, I arrived in Minnesota as a young man with a dream," he said.

"Little did I know that this place would become my home, and its people would become my family.

"Your love, support, and unwavering loyalty have fuelled my journey and inspired me to be the best player I could be. You'll always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for everything."

Towns could well meet his old team on October 13, with the Wolves and Knicks slated to play each other in preseason.

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.

The New York Knicks will visit the Boston Celtics for the first game of the 2024-25 NBA season on October 22 after the schedule for the new campaign was confirmed.

The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA Finals to win their first championship since 2008 last season, their 18th crown taking them clear of the Los Angeles Lakers at the top of the all-time charts.

They will open the defence of their title against rivals New York, who finished second to Boston in the Eastern Conference in 2023-24.

The Knicks were plagued by injuries throughout the 2023-24 postseason and were beaten by the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals, but they have moved to strengthen during the offseason by adding Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

That game will form part of an opening-night double header, preceding the Minnesota Timberwolves' clash with the Los Angeles Lakers, as LeBron James enters his record-equalling 22nd NBA season.

The following day will feature Paul George's Philadelphia 76ers debut as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Los Angeles Clippers will welcome the Phoenix Suns to inaugurate their new home arena, the Intuit Dome.

Other standout fixtures for the season include Klay Thompson's reunion with the Golden State Warriors following his move to Dallas, which is set for November 12.

His Mavs debut could come against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, with the two Texas teams set to face off on October 24.

The 2024-25 All-Star Weekend will be staged in San Francisco from February 14 to February 16, with the regular season set to wrap up on April 13.

The New York Knicks named Jalen Brunson as their new captain on Tuesday.

He is the team's first captain in six years, with Lance Thomas the last in the 2018-19 season, and the 36th overall.

Brunson has established himself in the team since arriving in 2022, helping the team to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in both seasons since leaving the Dallas Mavericks.

He averaged 28.7 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds over 35.4 minutes in 77 games in the regular season.

Brunson also became the first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points and get at least five assists in four consecutive playoff games.

"The New York Knicks have a deep and storied history, and today we are immensely proud to add to that lineage by naming Jalen Brunson as our captain," said Knicks president Leon Rose.

"Jalen is a natural-born leader, and I am confident he will continue to represent our organization, fans, city and his team-mates with the same heart, grit and class that he has displayed each and every day since he came to New York."

Brunson earned his first All-Star nod last season and finished fifth in the voting for the NBA MVP award. 

The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.

New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.

Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.

The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.

The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.

His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.

Jalen Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5 million extension with the New York Knicks on Friday.

The figure is $113 million less guaranteed than he would have been eligible to receive next offseason, but it puts the Knicks in a much better position financially to build a championship-caliber roster around him.

The deal was first reported by ESPN, with Brunson’s agent telling the organisation his client chose the extension over a five-year, $269 million contract he could have received as a free agent in 2025.

It’s an unprecedented move for the All-Star guard who finished fifth in MVP voting last season after he averaged career highs of 28.7 points and 6.7 assists in 2023-24.

Those numbers were far better than expected when the former second-round pick signed with the Knicks in 2022, with some questioning if a player who had mostly been a backup in Dallas was worth more than $100 million.

Brunson, 27, helped the Knicks reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013 before falling to the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brunson broke his hand in the second half and the Knicks were already dealing with a plethora of injuries to key players.

He has blossomed into one of the league's most impactful players and leaders and earned All-NBA honours after totalling 11 40-point games in the regular season.

Brunson’s extension will begin with the 2025-26 season and his decision to take less money should help the Knicks manage their payroll after a busy offseason in which they re-signed OG Anunoby to a five-year contract worth more than $210 million and acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets.

OG Anunoby plans to re-sign with the New York Knicks, agreeing to a five-year, $212.5million contract.

The deal, which includes a player option and a trade kicker, was first reported Wednesday by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. It can't officially be signed until July 6, when the NBA's moratorium period on free agents ends.

It was also reported one day after the Knicks pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets for forward Mikal Bridges.

New York acquired Anunoby at the end of December from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

In 23 regular-season games for the Knicks, he averaged 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.74 steals.

He scored 28 points in New York's Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals to help the Knicks take a 2-0 lead, but sustained a hamstring injury in the process and played just five minutes the rest of the play-offs as New York was eliminated in seven games.

Drafted 23rd overall by the Raptors in 2017, Anunoby has career averages of 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.26 steals in seven seasons.

 

The New York Knicks have agreed to a trade that would have coveted forward Mikal Bridges playing in Madison Square Garden next season, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

The Knicks reportedly acquired Bridges for a king’s ransom, with Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round draft picks and a protected first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks headed to the Brooklyn Nets in return.

News of the trade broke a day before the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, as the Knicks continued to add talent around All-NBA Second Team guard Jalen Brunson.

Bridges, 27, has two seasons left on the four-year, $90.9million rookie extension he signed when he was with the Phoenix Suns, and the Nets reportedly feared that he may leave for nothing if he reached free agency.

A six-year veteran, Bridges averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 82 games last season in Brooklyn.

Bridges will reunite with former college teammates in Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart as the Knicks continue to build a Villanova alumni club in their locker room.

A versatile two-way threat, Bridges is expected to bring secondary scoring and ball-handling on offence and could see plenty of open 3-point looks with defenses focusing on Brunson and Julius Randle.

Bridges is also the NBA’s active Iron Man with 474 consecutive games played, a welcome addition for a Knicks team that was devastated by injuries down the stretch last season.

The trade is not without risk for the Knicks, however.

In addition to the vast amount of draft capital sent to the Nets, Bridges’ addition casts doubt on New York’s ability to retain both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein, who will be free agents on June 30.

Bridges is able to easily swing between guard and forward positions, but a frontcourt that included Randle, Anunoby, Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson could be too crowded.

The Knicks gave up talented pieces in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to acquire Anunoby at last season’s deadline, but his skill-set could be somewhat redundant with Bridges on the roster.

If Knicks president Leon Rose is able to keep even one of Anunoby or Hartenstein, however, New York will add talent and depth to a team that won 50 games last season and broke down in the playoffs only after several key injuries.

The Nets will almost certainly take a step back after losing last season’s leading scorer, but the trade helps replenish the franchise’s arsenal of future assets that was diminished by acquiring James Harden in 2021.

With early reports touting the 2025 draft class as deep in high-level talent, Brooklyn turned its focus away from the 2024-25 season and toward the future.

Jalen Brunson's Game 7 ended with a fractured left hand.

Shortly later, the New York Knicks' season ended.

Brunson sustained a broken left hand and sat out the fourth quarter in the Knicks' 130-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

With the win, the Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals, where they'll face the top-seeded Boston Celtics.

Brunson, who had averaged 31.8 points and 5.7 assists in the first six games of the series against Indiana, had 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting and nine assists before exiting.

Instrumental to New York's success in 2023-24, Brunson finished fifth in NBA MVP voting during the regular season after averaging 28.7 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

 

Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.

Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.

And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.

"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.

"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."

Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.

"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].

"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."

Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance. 

"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."

Rick Carlisle insists there are "no excuses" after the Indiana Pacers' 121-91 defeat to the New York Knicks saw them fall behind in the Eastern Conference semi-final series.

Jalen Brunson top-scored with 44 points in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden as the Knicks edged 3-2 ahead in the series with a commanding win that moved them to the brink of their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000.

Pascal Siakam's contribution of 22 points proved academic for Indiana, who must continue their unbeaten postseason run on home soil in Game 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse if they are to take the series into a decider.

The Pacers are making their first playoff appearance since 2018-19 - and targeting a first Conference finals appearance in 10 years - and Carlisle believes his side's marginal inexperience proved crucial in Game 5.

"There are no excuses," he said. "But all the guys on our roster, I believe it's the first time they've been in a Game 5, tied 2-2, going on the road. So, you learn a lot in those situations very quickly.

"This is a different circumstance, and as a playoff series, it's going to get harder and harder. Their overall level of fight in this game was superior to what ours was, and that's the bottom line."

Tyrese Haliburton added: "They made a lot of shots today. But with the ones they did miss, they grabbed the offensive rebounds."

Meanwhile, Knicks guard Miles McBride saluted the character of his team-mates, who bounced back from a humbling 121-89 defeat in Game 4.

"I think the shift started in the locker room in Indiana," he said. "We talked about it and knew we had to respond."

Nikola Jokić scored 16 of his 40 points in the third quarter and the Denver Nuggets shut down Anthony Edwards to pull away for a 112-97 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday.

Jokic, who was presented with his third NBA MVP before the game, shot 15 of 22 from the field and had 13 assists and seven rebounds with no turnovers as the home team won for the first time in this series.

Aaron Gordon added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Murray had 16 points for the Nuggets, who can wrap up the series in Game 6 in Minnesota on Thursday night.

Edwards was limited to 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points.

After the Wolves took a 55-53 lead early in the third quarter, Jokic assisted on four consecutive baskets during Denver’s 11-2 run for a 64-57 lead it would not relinquish.

His dunk with 7:12 remaining made it 98-80, and Jokic’s 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer gave the Nuggets a 14-point advantage with just over 3 minutes left.

 Brunson powers Knicks to series lead

Jalen Brunson poured in 44 points and the New York Knicks dominated the glass in a 121-91 win over the Indiana Pacers to move a win away from their first Eastern Conference finals trip since 2000.

The Knicks bounced back from a blowout loss in Game 4 on Sunday and guaranteed themselves at least one more game at Madison Square Garden, though they can wrap up the series with a win in Indiana in Game 6 on Friday night.

Game 7, if necessary, would be Sunday at MSG.

Brunson injured his right foot in Game 2 and was held to 18 points Sunday, his lowest of the playoffs. He shot 18 for 35 from the field in this one and reached the 40-point mark for the second time in this series and fifth time this postseason.

Josh Hart had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Alec Burks scored 18, Deuce McBride added 17 points after he was inserted into the starting lineup and Isaiah Hartenstein had seven points and 17 rebounds. The Knicks had a 53-29 advantage on the glass.

Pascal Siakam scored 22 points for the Pacers, who will try to stay unbeaten at home in the postseason to prolong the series. Myles Turner had 16 points, but All-Star Tyrese Haliburton was limited to 13 after averaging 29.7 over the last three games.

Brunson made consecutive baskets to extend New York’s lead to 13 early in the second quarter and then had the first bucket in a 9-0 run that made it 65-47 with 2:11 left in the first half.

Indiana had the deficit down to 70-63 on Turner’s 3 early in the third quarter, but the Knicks put the game out of reach with a 19-1 run that featured 3s by McBride and Brunson.

Jalen Brunson refused to make excuses for the New York Knicks after injuries and fatigue hampered them in their Game 4 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

The Pacers recorded a dominant 121-89 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to level the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2, with Tyrese Haliburton scoring a team-high 20 points.

Haliburton was one of six Indiana players in double figures but it was their defense that did the hard yards, limiting Brunson to just 18 points in support of Alec Burks, who had 20 points of his own.

Brunson entered the contest averaging a league-high 34.6 points this postseason, but he was 6-of-17 shooting and received little support from elsewhere as Josh Hart had two points in 24 minutes and Donte DiVincenzo tallied seven.

The Knicks were sluggish from the off as they played a second straight game without defensive stopper OG Anunoby, who sustained a hamstring injury in Game 2.

Brunson, however, was not about to excuse their poor performance.

"We can talk about fresher legs and you can give us all the pity that we want," he said. "Yeah, we're shorthanded, but that doesn't matter right now. 

"We have what we have and we need to go forward with that. There is no excuse. There's no excuse whatsoever. If we lose, we lose. That's what that was."

The series will now head back to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday for Game 5, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle expects a strong response from their opponents.

"New York is a team that has shown that it has an indomitable will to compete and rise above anything people say they can't do," Carlisle said. 

"We've seen it throughout the season. We've seen it in this series. We're believers in that, and so we've got to focus on us. 

"Everything is going to be a situation where you've got your hands completely full."

Nikola Jokić scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets held off the Minnesota TImberwolves to earn a critical 115-107 win in Sunday's Game 4 of a Western Conference semifinal series. 

Aaron Gordon also provided the Nuggets a huge lift by amassing 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting as the reigning NBA champions evened the series at 2-2. Jamal Murray added 19 points, 12 of which came in the third quarter, to help Denver to its second straight victory in Minnesota after the TImberwolves won Games 1 and 2 on the road.

The best-of-seven series will return to Denver for Tuesday's pivotal Game 5.

Denver also overcame another superb performance from Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, who put up a play-off career-high 44 points for his third 40-point effort in this post-season. 

Edwards' All-Star teammate Karl-Anthony Towns struggled, however, as he was held to 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds. 

The Nuggets never trailed after taking a 23-22 lead on Gordon's three-point play with 2:39 left in the first quarter. They led 29-24 after one period, then scored the final eight points of the first half to own a 64-49 advantage at intermission.

Murray capped the opening half by draining a 3-point shot from half-court as the buzzer sounded.

Denver's lead swelled to as many as 18 points early in the third quarter, but the Timberwolves gradually chipped away and cut their deficit to 111-104 when Edwards followed teammate Jaden McDaniels' 3-pointer with a running layup with 1:41 left to play.

Minnesota didn't make another basket the rest of the way, though, and Jokic sealed the outcome by scoring off a Gordon feed out of a timeout with 25.8 seconds remaining to make the score 115-107.

 Pacers clamp down on Knicks to even series

The Eastern Conference now has a series all even at two games apiece as well after the Indiana Pacers came through with a dominant 121-89 Game 4 rout of the New York Knicks.

Tyrese Haliburton led a balanced Indiana scoring attack with 20 points, but it was the Pacers' defence that provided the biggest reason why the series is now all tied as it heads back to New York for Tuesday's Game 5.

The Knicks shot a meagre 18.9 per cent (7 for 37) from 3-point range, their lowest accuracy rate in a play-off game since 2000, and 33.7 per cent overall in by far their most lopsided defeat of this post-season. Star guard Jalen Brunson, who entered the contest averaging a league-leading 34.6 points per game in the post-season, was held to 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting.

T.J. McConnell added 15 points and 10 assists for Indiana, which immediately assumed control by opening the game on a 19-6 run and shooting 60.9 per cent in the first quarter.

New York, on the other hand, went 6 of 23 from the field in the opening period and trailed 34-14 entering the second. 

The Pacers continued to dominate in the second quarter, building a lead as large as 30 points and taking a commanding 69-41 advantage into the break. Five Pacers scored in double figures in the first half, led by Haliburton's 13 points.

New York failed to mount a challenge in the second half as well, as the Pacers extended the margin to 101-63 after three quarters and led by as many as 43 points in the fourth.

Alec Burks finished with 20 points to lead the Knicks, who played without defensive stopper OG Anunoby for a second straight game due to a left hamstring injury he sustained in Game 2. 

 

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