The New York Knicks' rivals offer different perspectives on Karl-Anthony Town's trade

If anyone can sympathize with the New York Knicks' latest big move, it's two of their biggest rivals of late.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce changed the professional basketball landscape, albeit briefly, when the former moved to the Boston Celtics before the 2008-09 season. This blockbuster deal and the additional acquisition of Ray Allen restored the struggling Celtics franchise to its former glory.

With the rival Knicks looking to make similar progress, the Green duo discussed acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns, who is coming to Manhattan in exchange for a package that includes Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pierce, a recurring critic of the Knicks, was not a fan of the deal from the Knicks' perspective, giving Towns' former employers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the early win.

“The Knicks were looking good (last year) and then Randle wasn't around, I would have thought he would be the X factor,” Pierce said on the duo's web series “The Ticket and The Truth.” “Honestly, I think Minnesota won this trade because I love DiVincenzo. He’s a dog.”

“Last year I went from watching him to being like, 'Hog, he's a starter in the league and he's not going to start with the Knicks. I think Minnesota has two starters for one and they've lost some depth, I think.' , shoot, that's just what the doctor ordered: some toughness on the wing to match (Jaden) McDaniels, man, (DiVincenzos) was out of it, he did well in the preseason, and you got some toughness against Randle. ”

Pierce, one of the most recognizable and successful names in Celtics history, has frequently chided the Knicks, so his pessimism is hardly surprising. Before the Towns trade, Pierce actively stated that the Knicks would not win a championship in his lifetime, even though the organization had legitimate hopes for the first time in at least a decade.

Garnett, a former Timberwolf himself, was somewhat more sympathetic, arguing that both sides had gotten something valuable from the monumental deal.

“I think the Karl-Anthony Towns to the east make New York a lot more interesting,” Garnett said. “That gives you the big reason why Mitchell Robinson is out. They’re going to need a big guy who can dominate, who you can throw the ball to and score.”

“Karl-Anthony Towns puts the Knicks in a different conversation now because (Jalen) Brunson has a real five-man who could actually be on this list in today's five-man game,” the Big Ticket continued, praising the “determiner” of Minnesota with Randle playing with Anthony Edwards. “He’s on that list: When you talk about (Joel) Embiid, (Nikola) Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns is on that list.”

The new-look Knicks have a big chance to show how they've improved on Tuesday night when they take on Garnett and Pierce's old employers in Beantown at TD Garden to open the 2024-25 NBA season (7:30 p.m ET, TNT).

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