Karl-Anthony Towns compares loyalty to Wolves to decision to play for DR National Team

Towns likens staying in Minnesota with his decision to continue to play for the Dominican Republic national team. He said he’s had opportunities to leave the Dominicans, his mother’s homeland, and reclassify to play with Team USA, which could use a …

Towns likens staying in Minnesota with his decision to continue to play for the Dominican Republic national team. He said he’s had opportunities to leave the Dominicans, his mother’s homeland, and reclassify to play with Team USA, which could use a talented big man. But that would be the easy route in his eyes. “I like taking the hard route. I like going the more rewarding route,” he said. “I love being with the Dominican Republic national team. There’s a lot of things they haven’t done, and I’m able to possibly change that. The challenge is what I’ve always strived for.”

Source: Jon Krawczynski @ The Athletic

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski
“I didn’t ever think the game would be the same for me again.”
— Karl-Anthony Towns is coming out of the fog of grief and holds the keys to Minnesota’s hopes for this season. theathletic.com/2877537/2021/1…10:15 AM
Kyle Ratke @Kyle_Ratke
Fantastic @10000Layups podcast with @Michael Pina, who discusses his Karl-Anthony Towns piece, what the interview was like, and more: open.spotify.com/episode/4E2jMx…9:56 AM
Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine
Timberwolves road trip a special homecoming for Karl-Anthony Towns. From today’s paper: strib.mn/3j5Qmeu7:52 AM
Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
Karl-Anthony Towns is getting frustrated with the Nets’ defense. He keeps resorting to that stiff arm in the post. – 9:06 PM
Christopher Hine @ChristopherHine
Karl-Anthony Towns played the entire first quarter. Gearing up to do that in the regular season, I’m guessing. I seem to recall him saying last year he liked playing the whole first. – 8:06 PM
Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Tapping in from Barclays Center, where Nets-Timberwolves tips in ~ 10 minutes. First it was Joel Embiid & Andre Drummond. Tonight, it’s Karl-Anthony Towns who the Nets have to stop. Nets have traditionally struggled to check stretch 5s. Nic Claxton gets a crack at it tonight. – 7:27 PM
NBA Math @NBA_Math
2021-22 preseason #CrystalBasketball for the Minnesota Timberwolves:
5. Jaden McDaniels: 4.5 (1.12 up)
4. Malik Beasley: 5.67 (0.21 up)
3. D’Angelo Russell: 6.0 (0.08 down)
2. Anthony Edwards: 6.22 (0.79 up)
1. Karl-Anthony Towns: 9.67 (0.75 up)
nbamath.com/crystalbasketb… pic.twitter.com/VUm200qPCX10:00 AM

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Now on @njdotcom
Piscataway native, Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns practices on N.J. court named for his mother who died from COVID-19 nj.com/nets/2021/10/t…
@KeanUniversity
@KeanMBB
@Karl-Anthony Towns
@Timberwolves – 4:48 PM

More on this storyline

The Crossover spoke with scouts from around the league in advance of the 2021–2022 season. Minnesota Timberwolves – “I still think they have a lot of questions. New ownership group coming, I think that adds another layer of questions: what’s going to happen there, what’s going to happen with the players if they don’t get off to a good start. You can hear Towns name on the trade block.” -via Sports Illustrated / October 15, 2021
Darren Wolfson: However, the same hurdles remain. Daryl Morey at some point needs to stop asking for the moon. Presumably he will. But even then there is not a sense that the Philadelphia front office has interest in who the wolves are willing to make available. Gupta, like Gersson (Rosas) is not trading Anthony Edwards, is not trading Karl-Anthony Towns. The key is to find a third team. -via Spotify / October 6, 2021
SiriusXM NBA Radio: Could a Karl-Anthony Towns trade request be the next shoe to drop in Minnesota? 🔊 @JonKrawczynski tells @talkhoops & @hoopscritic why he doesn’t believe that’s the case right now. #RaisedByWolves. “There are no indications that he is ready to go that route.” – Jon Krawczynski. -via Twitter @SiriusXMNBA / September 23, 2021