Boston Celtics fans like dreaming big, and Karl-Anthony Towns gave them a bit of fodder at NBA All-Star weekend.
The Minnesota Timberwolves big man was spotted hanging out with Celtics legends Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Paul Pierce and Robert Parish (as well as C's All-Star Jayson Tatum) before Sunday's All-Star Game, leading Boston fans to wonder if Towns may ponder joining the Celtics fraternity one day.
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Whether the C's could ever land Towns is unclear, but Basketball Hall of Famer and Celtics radio analyst Cedric Maxwell explained Monday night why the 26-year-old would be a great fit in Boston alongside Tatum and Brown.
"I would love to have him in a position to be with the Celtics now because of his ability," Maxwell said on NBC Sports Boston's Early Edition, as seen in the video above.
"He's such a different player than Tatum, and that is really what I look at: the contrast between players. What I like about Karl-Anthony Towns is he has a certain amount of nasty to him, and you don't see that a lot in the NBA with a lot of different players. ... I'd really like those guys playing together."
Towns is one of the NBA's most well-rounded big men: He's averaging 24.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this season and is a career 39.6% 3-point shooter who would also fill Boston's need for outside shooting. A trio of Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Towns would be an absolute force, and to Maxwell's point, Towns' unique skill set would complement the Jays perfectly.
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That said, the chances of the Celtics (or any team) landing Towns via trade next offseason seems very unlikely.
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The resurgent Wolves sit seventh in the Western Conference at 31-28 and have a very talented young trio in Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell. While Towns -- who's in the third year of a five-year, $158 million contract -- has been frustrated by Minnesota's losing in the past, the team finally appears to be trending in the right direction and likely would demand a massive return for Towns if it even makes him available at all.
For Boston, that almost certainly would mean bringing Robert Williams, Marcus Smart and multiple first-round draft picks to the negotiating table. The Wolves also could hold out for Brown or Tatum in a potential Towns deal, which would probably end any trade discussion.
So, you can file Towns in the Anthony Davis department of uber-talented big men who would fit very nicely in Boston but have very long odds of wearing Celtics green.