The Celtics flew to Abu Dhabi on Monday night, arriving Tuesday morning following a 12 hour journey with practice on Wednesday. Boston and Denver will hold open practices on Thursday ahead of their preseason games on Friday (12 p.m. EST) and Sunday (10 a.m. EST). While they opened camp last week, the Knicks made a blockbuster Karl-Anthony Towns trade to keep pace with Boston and the rest of the league opened up their training camps on Monday.
Here are some thoughts about Towns and what we saw and heard around the league earlier this we:
- The Knicks and Wolves both had no choice but to accept what they received in the Towns trade. If you’re New York and facing 2-3 months without Mitchell Robinson, a slow start for Julius Randle as he recovers from shoulder surgery and having already watched Isaiah Hartenstein depart, you needed to address center or risk a substantively poor start to the regular season. Given their cap situation, it was difficult to imagine them upgrading at center without Randle, and given that we were imagining Isaiah Stewart and Robert Williams III additions over the summer, that a top-five center in Towns became available would’ve been tough to pass up on. Even if the Donte DiVincenzo loss hurts. For Minnesota, there’s a real case they should’ve ran back the Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Towns core one more time after they nearly made the Finals. Towns was going to have to go at some point over the next year, though, and given that Randle is probably among the best attainable players to provide some percentage of what Towns provides, plus another valuable rotation player in DiVincenzo and a potentially valuable (albeit protected) Detroit pick, they needed to act too. However, Minnesota fans had a right to wake up the next morning wondering if they’re still a championship contender this year.
- The trade made opening night on Oct. 22, Towns’ Knicks debut and Boston’s ring night, all the more compelling. Both New York and the Celtics will be missing their starting centers, Robinson and Kristaps Porziņģis, equipped with the most effective secondary options you can imagine. Forget the warts, which we’ll get to, Towns is a 7-0 sharpshooter with the strength and footwork to punish you inside too. Al Horford and Boston’s wings will have his hands full with Towns, and the Knicks can now play the five-out approach the Celtics will on the other end. Eventually, Robinson’s return will allow Josh Hart to come off the bench and Towns to slide to the four where he thrived next to Gobert last year. The Knicks didn’t appear as threatening to Boston without a clear plan at center, and while some questions remain regarding Robinson’s health, they’re once again the biggest threat to the Celtics in the east.
- Excuse me for probably standing among the biggest Towns believers left nine years into his career despite many playoff meltdowns, clear defensive weaknesses and an overall passive approach on offense. He figured some things out during Minnesota’s run last year beyond Edwards simply taking over the leadership reigns (which Jalen Brunson and others will control in New York). In the 2024 playoffs, Towns scored more, shot better, grabbed more offensive rebounds and most importantly reduced his fouling from an absurd 4.2 per game in his previous two postseasons to 3.4. That number is still too high, particularly if Towns needs to play more center in New York, but last year proved Towns can continue growing beyond his most frustrating tendencies. Only one handful of players seem to have trouble staying on the floor consistently due to foul trouble, which makes me think it’s an approach issue more than something that can’t change.
- Can the Knicks defend Boston? It’s a real question if the Celtics can successfully put Towns in actions repeatedly, as they routinely did against weaker defenders last year. Towns’ size and length make him a more compelling defensive option than many would assume at the four, holding up better against wings in space rather than defending pick-and-rolls while playing in the league’s best regular season defensive unit. Tatum (6-9 FG) and Brown (2-4 FG) didn’t let him off the hook in two competitive meetings, though. All you can say is that defense won’t prevent the Knicks from competing with Boston, but their weaknesses on that end will raise the standard they have to reach on offense. Depth is a question here too with DiVincenzo gone.
- It’s amazing DiVincenzo is moving on from another potential home despite all the promise he’s shown. I had him in my 2024-25 Top 100, and the Celtics reportedly pursued him, offering Grant Williams during DiVincenzo’s Bucks days that got derailed by a knee injury and Milwaukee’s trade for Serge Ibaka. He’s since played in Sacramento, Golden State, New York and Minnesota before age 28.
- From a cap standpoint, the Knicks-Wolves trade was unlikely but possible under the new collective bargaining agreement. It took some foresight to do the Mikal Bridges trade while only hard capping themselves at the second apron. They also worked around the Malcolm Brogdon rule by compiling multiple minimum salary players for $1 above the league minimum in sign-and-trades, as Fred Katz pointed out. Moving money is difficult in the new CBA, but not impossible. The Wolves made a luxury tax move by dealing Towns that the Celtics might have to make a similar version of one year from now.
- I couldn’t look away from Miami media day. What would Jimmy Butler show up looking (and sounding) like without a contract after his hairstyle antics to start the past two training camps. He arrived in his normal look, echoing Erik Spoelstra’s sentiment that they need each other. There are still many questions about he and the Heat’s future, but Butler didn’t sound like a player who wants to leave. He remains extension-eligible into the final season of his deal.
- Former Celtics Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, Grant Williams and Daniel Theis all sound healthy and ready to progress their careers in homes old and new. Smart’s Grizzlies are already struggling with injuries to Jaren Jackson Jr., GG Jackson II and Vince Williams Jr. Williams III is contending for playing time with Deandre Ayton and rookie Donovan Clingan in Portland. He could be on the move before long. So could Brogdon, who joined the rebuilding Wizards in the Deni Avdija-Blazers trade. Grant starts his first full year in Charlotte with former Celtics coach Charles Lee, who unfortunately lost intriguing young center Mark Williams already to another injury. Theis could be the starting center for New Orleans, who didn’t pursue a significant Jonas Valančiūnas replacement and talked at media day about a by committee approach to the position.
- Elsewhere, the Cavs looked forward to a healthier 2025 and new approach under Kenny Atkinson, the Bucks won’t have Khris Middleton (ankles) in important five-on-five reps to begin camp, but he will take part in other drills and doesn’t sound extraordinarily far from playing. Still, it’s an ominous sign for an aging team. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard also strangely didn’t spend time together over the summer. I’ll never quit on an Antetokounmpo team, but there are many valid questions here.
- Kawhi Leonard is still hurt in LA and might deal with knee swelling for the rest of his career. Gulp.
- Am I crazy for believing in the Lakers a little? JJ Redick talked on the final Lowe Post podcast about learning from Joe Mazzulla and sounds like he’ll try to implement many of his concepts from three-point shooting volume to offensive rebounding in LA. I’m not sure if Redick is ready to manage the personality aspect of the coaching job with the Lakers, but his basketball acumen for the position appears sound. First up on the management front: how will he handle Bronny James’ usage and development with all eyes on that story that should be taking a clear back seat to trying to win with what the elder James has left in him. I can’t lie — the media day visuals of them together were pretty cool.
- I hope the Spurs can escape their rebuild this year. Gregg Popovich was all jokes at media day after their Belichickian post-dynasty continued with another down season last year — he said who the hell knows who’ll start next to Victor Wembanayama. The next face of the league put on some muscle over the summer. He’s ready. Chris Paul probably has enough left to steady this ship. It’s go time there now.
- Joel Embiid said he’s down 25-30 pounds, and looked like it. No player faces more pressure this year. Tyrese Maxey looks great physically too and the Sixers have everything they need to compete.
- Ime Udoka and the Rockets want to make the playoffs. They’ll be aggressive if opportunities to accelerate their timeline arise. As Adrian Wojnarowski talked about over the summer, let’s see how Kevin Durant and Phoenix start this season. I like the Suns’ roster better than one year ago, but it’s still hard to see them ascending to contender status without some major breaks.
- With that said, look around the league. Not to go full Celtics honk, but are there any teams that truly scare you today? The Porziņģis injury and any further health concerns that emerge in Boston could change the NBA landscape, but the field hasn’t mustered many compelling cases to knock the Celtic off their thrown. Yet.
- A report out of Madrid said Oshae Brissett and Real Madrid could align on making Brissett a Guerschon Yabusele replacement for the Spanish club. It also affirmed another report connecting the Celtic champion to Serbian club Crvena Zvezda. With training camp and European seasons underway, Brissett’s NBA career could be in the balance for now. He declined a $2.5 million player option in June.
