NBA Realities

The New York Knicks were reportedly disappointed with Karl-Anthony Towns’ defensive habits throughout the 2024-25 season. James Edwards III and Fred Katz of The Athletic stated on May 31st; that Knicks coaches and players expressed concern about his struggles to learn the team’s defensive system.

“Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies. Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns’ defensive habits — less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end. Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn’t grasp the importance of the matter”.

Leon Rose Ignored the Red Flags on Towns’ Defense

Although the organization’s concerns are valid, President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose needed to do a better job researching how he would fit with the team. This is because Karl-Anthony Towns has played a defensive style over the past several seasons that was not going to work with the Knicks.

Karl-Anthony Towns has a habit of routinely staying close to his defensive assignment regardless of their offensive skill set. On February 24th, 2024, Towns was assigned to guard Nic  Claxton, who had 23 seconds left in the second quarter. 

Claxton stood just above the elbow as Dennis Schröder brought the ball up the court. He remained there for a few seconds as Dennis passed the ball to Mikal Bridges on the left wing.

Bridges immediately passed the ball to Claxton, who proceeded to drive by Karl-Anthony Towns. During this entire possession, Towns was close to Claxton, which was puzzling as Nic takes 60.3% of his shots inside the restricted area, averaging 4.3 per game.

Knicks vs Hawks

Karl-Anthony Towns did not change his defensive habits upon arriving in New York. On November 10th, Towns was assigned to guard Clint Capela during a defensive possession with 8:30 minutes left in the first quarter. Capela takes 74.6% of his shots within 3 feet of the basket, averaging 6.3 per game. 

Despite Capela’s shot profile, Towns stood next to him near the free-throw line as Trae Young brought the ball up the court. Towns stayed close to Capela until Young called for a screen on the right wing. After he went over the screen, Towns temporarily separated from Capela to close off Young’s path to the basket.

Once Young passed the ball, Towns went back to Capela for the rest of the possession.

Knicks’ System Was Never Built for Towns to Succeed

Towns’ defensive habits were always going to clash with the Knicks’ system, as head coach Tom Thibodeau prioritized protecting the paint.  On January 22nd, 2023, Kevin Love passed the ball to Evan Mobley, who stood near the elbow.

Mobley held the ball for a couple of seconds until Caris LeVert came over to initiate a dribble handoff. Upon receiving the ball, Caris LeVert immediately drove to the basket, causing New York Knicks players to centralize around the restricted area.

As a result, LeVert passed the ball to Ricky Rubio for a three from the right corner. Thibodeau’s system has been the catalyst behind the New York Knicks being one of the best teams at protecting the rim. Before the 2024-25 season, they held opponents to 62.7% shooting in the restricted area on 26.9 attempts per game during his coaching tenure, fourth best in the league.

However, they allow opponents to take a significant number of three-pointers. New York’s is 10th highest in the league, and opponents’ three-point attempts average 35.9 shots per game.

Unfortunately, Karl-Anthony Towns struggled to protect the paint before arriving in New York due to his propensity to be away from the basket. Opponents shot 65.4% in the restricted area on 19.7 attempts per game in the three seasons before Rudy Gobert’s arrival in Minnesota.

He continued underperforming as a rim protector during his first season in New York, holding opponents to 67.6% shooting on 18.9 attempts. His arrival contributed to a decline in team rim protection as New York held opponents to 65.7% shooting on 27.2 attempts, 10th in the league.

Karl-Anthony Towns’ defensive habits were on display for many seasons before joining the New York Knicks. Consequently, Leon Rose deserves the blame for the team’s failures this season. 

The CAA Connection: How Rose’s Loyalty Clouded His Judgment

Rose likely ignored the video evidence of Towns’s defensive habits and chose to acquire him due to their prior relationship. On May 15th, 2015, Karl-Anthony Towns signed a contract with Creative Artist Agency for Rose to be his basketball agent.

Rose was Karl-Anthony Towns’ agent for almost five years until he joined the New York Knicks organization in March 2020.

Furthermore, Leon Rose has used networking as one of his primary tools to build the New York Knicks roster. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Towns are all represented by the Creative Artists Agency. Therefore, Leon Rose’s reliance on networking is the catalyst for Karl-Anthony Towns being on the roster in the first place.