Karl-Anthony Towns’ bounce-back season is going to make him a lot of money.
If Towns makes an All-NBA team this season — which is likely — the Timberwolves can and will offer him a four-year, $210.9 million extension on top of the two years on his existing contract. That would lock Towns in with the Timberwolves through his prime, through his age 32 season.
Towns sounded like someone who will sign that deal and stick around, based on his postgame comments after the Timberwolves were eliminated by the Grizzlies Friday night.
Karl-Anthony Towns when asked about potentially signing an extension this summer pic.twitter.com/OfPjRR6GtS
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) April 30, 2022
Towns and Anthony Edwards — still on his rookie contract — form the core of a Timberwolves team that should be a playoff factor for years to come (and maybe more than that, depending on what happens with the roster around them). Towns averaged 24.6 points and 9.8 rebounds a game, showing improved passing on one end of the floor and more focused overall defense on the other. However, the biggest reason for Towns’ All-NBA level season was he stayed healthy, playing in 74 games after missing chunks of the last two seasons due to injury.
It’s not universal, but in the wake of Giannis Antetokounmpo showing a superstar can earn a ring with the team that drafted him — if the franchise makes the right team-building moves and he stays patient — other young stars seem to lean toward that path rather than jumping ship to join up with friends on superteams. Towns appears ready to follow that trend.
