'Villanova' Knicks Broken Up In Major NBA Shakeup

PublishedSeptember 28, 2024 8:48 AM EDT|UpdatedSeptember 28, 2024 8:48 AM EDT

New York Knicks fans were thrown into chaos Friday night as the team made a blockbuster trade that would break up the highly anticipated ‘Nova Knicks’ by sending Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick via Detroit to Minnesota in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns.

The basketball group chats immediately began going crazy as NBA Twitter, presumably half in the back being that it was a Friday night, all came together to tweet, "Wait, what?" about the peculiar move that has divided Knicks fans, with some now saying "No, New York, No New York, No!"

‘NOVA KNICKS’ REUNITED 4 FORMER WILDCAT PLAYERS

It was only a few months ago when Knicks fans were ecstatic that the ‘Nova Knicks' - featuring former Wildcats teammates Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, was actually going to be a reality.

That is, until it wasn't, as DiVincenzo has now been traded before all four were able to show their chemistry on the court together. Donte was expected to be the sixth man for the Knicks, who now lack depth since his departure as well as center Mitchell Robinson expected to be out until December as he continues to recover from foot surgery.

Knicks fans will also say goodbye to their 3x All-Star power forward Julius Randle, who had become a face of the rebuilt Knicks and a fan favorite in the city. Just last week, a South Bronx school named their basketball court after him. Whoops!

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS HAS BEEN INJURED AND HAS QUESTIONABLE ATTITUDE

From a statistics standpoint, Karl-Anthony Towns is an upgrade, but does come with some reservations. He has missed 20 games due to injuries in 4 of the past 5 years, and has been criticized for being ‘soft’ and stubborn during his time in Minnesota. He also has been ripped for not hustling on defense as much as he should.

That attitude is going to have to change big time if he expects to thrive with the New York media and a fanbase that had high hopes and was only one win away from the NBA Eastern Conference Finals last year.