How Karl-Anthony Towns’s Trade to New York Got Delayed in Serbia

Perhaps the biggest winner in the Karl-Anthony Towns–Julius Randle trade is a team in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Knicks made waves Friday night by reportedly agreeing to a trade for Towns, the No. 1 pick in 2015 and a four-time All-Star in Minnesota. It reunites him with Tom Thibodeau, who coached him with the Timberwolves, and Leon Rose, who represented the big man when he first turned pro. New York sent back Randle, whose 2019 signing ultimately brought them to this point of title contention.

But the trade is still not official yet, as the Knicks scramble to comply with the restrictions under the NBA’s first apron in the new collective bargaining agreement. Towns recently signed a four-year, $220 million extension; neither team can take on additional money in trades because their payrolls exceed that first $178 million apron. To facilitate the deal, the Hornets are using their salary cap space and room exception to absorb some of the money.

Despite adding sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo to the trade, the Knicks would still be $8.8 million short just sending out DiVincenzo’s and Randle’s deals for Towns’s. To cover that difference, they are sending out three players who they own the rights to but are no longer on the roster: Charlie Brown Jr., DaQuan Jeffries, and Duane Washington Jr.

It’s paperwork on Washington’s deal with Belgrade’s Partizan Mozzart Bet that is likely holding up the deal, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. For him to be included in the trade, the Knicks need to buy out his contract. The Hornets will probably waive Washington, leaving Partizan free to sign him to a new deal while getting paid $850,000 for the buyout. The club basically gets that money for nothing and could keep Washington, who was on a two-way deal with the Knicks last year but never appeared in a game.

For the international buyout to happen, the Knicks must go through FIBA, which doesn’t operate on weekends the way the NBA league office does. 

This is the Knicks’ second trade of the offseason that had an interesting caveat with international player rights. During the draft the team traded for a 36-year-old Summer League coach to acquire a late second-round pick in June’s draft. At least Washington is still playing. 

Though the trade is still delayed to the point where the teams can’t talk about it, it’s still expected to go through early this week with FIBA back open for business. Towns was spotted at the Knicks’ facility on Monday.