The Timberwolves are reportedly trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks

Towns was drafted Nol. He was selected No. 1 overall by the Timberwolves in 2015 and spent nine seasons in Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minnesota Timberwolves open training camp next week and made a blockbuster trade on Friday evening.

According to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the Timberwolves are trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte Divencenzo and a first-round pick.

Why it matters

Towns was drafted Nol. He was selected No. 1 overall by the Timberwolves in 2015 and spent nine seasons in Minnesota. He is the team’s best player alongside Anthony Edwards and one of the faces of the franchise. It appears Towns himself was caught off guard, judging by his reaction on social media Friday night.

Towns helped the Timberwolves to their best regular season in 20 years last season and their first trip to the Western Conference finals in two decades. He is a four-time NBA All-Star and 2015 Rookie of the Year. Last season, he averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, making him one of the best perimeter shooting big men in the league.

Towns begins the first year of a four-year, $220 contract extension this season. The Timberwolves posted a video of Towns practicing at Mayo Clinic Square earlier this week.

What it means

The Timberwolves open training camp next week and will host a media day on Monday. That means Anthony Edwards is the face of the franchise, if he wasn’t already. Randle and DiVencenzo will need to work their way into the rotation and find a fit for Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley Jr. and Naz Reid.

Tim Connelly continues to show that he is not afraid to take bold steps. He traded five draft picks and four players to the Utah Jazz to get Rudy Gobert, who was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time last season.

The team has not confirmed Towns’ trade.