Knicks’ Loophole to Complete Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Upsets NBA; Insider Reveals

Karl-Anthony Towns is officially a member of the New York Knicks but the NBA isn't happy because of how the trade was made by the Knicks.

By Anshumaan Singh

Updated on Oct 03, 2024 | 01:11 PM IST | 167.2K

Karl-Anthony Towns

All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns was acquired by the New York Knicks from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a multi-team trade, which is a major roster improvement for the team. The announcement was made official and several significant players were involved in the transaction, including the Knicks obtaining the Charlotte Hornets' draft rights to James Nnaji.

Although the Knicks view the trade as historic, the NBA is concerned about the process used to complete the transaction. According to reports, the Knicks found a way to get around limitations that were put in place to stop these kinds of trades in the newly implemented Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) of the league.

Under the new CBA, teams are prohibited from aggregating multiple minimum-salary contracts to facilitate trades, a rule designed to limit salary manipulation. By slightly raising the pay of three free agents—DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr., and Duane Washington Jr.—in their sign-and-trade agreements, the Knicks managed to get around this restriction.

Because each player received only $1 more than the league minimum, New York was able to fulfill its salary-matching obligations without going against the terms of the CBA. Despite being lawful in theory, this tactic has apparently caused the league some concern.

Fred Katz of The Athletic noted, “I have heard from various people that the league isn’t thrilled about this — but such is the way it goes with new CBAs. The NBA tries to close up loopholes, and then smart people working for teams find new ones.”

The Knicks were able to complete the trade for Towns without breaking any rules by taking advantage of this loophole, but the NBA's dissatisfaction with the situation indicates that more investigation may be coming. League officials will likely evaluate whether this specific tactic creates an unsettling precedent for upcoming trades, particularly in light of the fact that teams are still coming up with inventive ways to work around the CBA's intricacies.

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