Are Kevin Durant and Devin Booker from the Suns the ones to set in motion this season?

The New York Knicks finally found Karl-Anthony Towns. For years, whispers around the league revealed how Knicks Head of Basketball Operations Leon Rose wanted Karl-Anthony Towns on Madison Square Garden; many believed a move would soon take place. Finally, Knicks got what they desired! Devin Booker of the Knicks would make an appropriate selection here as both were former clients of Rose. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards would remain by Durant’s side at Paris Olympic, giving the Timberwolves hope they would land him as they try for Kevin Durant in return trades between teams such as Knicks-Wolves. Yes, these transactions had enormous ramifications across the league but could their impactful ripples be far-reaching? At first, let’s head east where Rose continues his impressive expansion through his Creative Artist Agency connections. Let us start in New York where Leon Rose continues building an expansive empire through this channel of distribution, like when William Wesley joined Leon Rose’s Knicks front office team in 2020. As one of the premier agents in NBA history, Rose represented such notable names as LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony Joel Embiid and Dwyane Wade among many more. Rose made one of his initial priorities upon being hired by James Dolan early March 2020 hiring his right-hand man at CAA, William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley to join his front office staff – known to some as one of the most powerful figures in basketball lore. Though rarely giving interviews to media members such as MSG announcer Mike Breen in June 2020 he did agree to sit for one specifically to discuss Wesley being brought aboard as staffer. “Wes is one of the most well-respected and connected individuals in basketball,” Rose stated. “He will bring so much value to this organization… Business is about building relationships; treating others well; working hard… This business depends on him.” “WES has built this team around his unique characteristics.” From front office to floor, CAA now runs deep through Madison Square Garden; from Tom Thibodeau being represented by CAA as coach, to signing on OG Anunoby on max contract under Wes’ guidance…the Knicks now boast numerous CAA connections throughout Madison Square Garden.” Jalen Brunson was recruited and persuaded into signing below-market deal by Rose’s son Sam as part of CAA representation for him and Towns respectively. Their families even have deeper ties; Brunson’s father Rick had been Rose’s very first NBA client as an upstart young agent from New Jersey! At present, Rick Brunson serves as one of Thibodeau’s primary assistant coaches on Rose’s sidelines for New York Knicks games. If Rose is connected with CAA then take your pick; criticize whatever way possible! Rose’s tenure with the Knicks has laid out their path toward NBA greatness. To truly understand how their transformation from an 18-42 franchise when Rose took control to being title contenders is possible, one needs to become familiar with Rose, Wesley and CAA-repped John Calipari (Towns’ and Booker’s former Kentucky coach) became such an effective unofficial power center that helped drive Final Four appearances, No.1 seed finishes in playoff races as well as playoff titles won. Calipari served as coach; Wesley provided connections. Rose served as Towns’ player agent. One may think Towns’ college recruitment story begins back in 2012 when he announced reclassifying for high school class of 2014 and making an official commitment to Kentucky Wildcats under then head coach John Calipari; but that is just where his journey begins. Two years prior, in 2010, it was revealed that Karl-Anthony Towns would join NBA stars Al Horford and Francisco Garcia on the Dominican Republic national team as a 15-year-old from New Jersey. Towns’ late mother Jacqueline Cruz-Towns hailing from Dominican Republic was responsible for taking him there as part of training sessions to qualify his national team for 2012. As part of this preparation, Towns and Horford traveled together as members of their Dominican Republic national team training squad as they made visits to Kentucky Wildcats practice facility to qualify their rosters in Lexington as training ground for qualification of Dominican Republic national team teams for 2012. Horford and Garcia joked about how their respective fan bases at Florida and Louisville might take exception. But they were there because Kentucky coach John Calipari agreed to coach the Dominican team. Why would Calipari agree? He comes from Italian immigrant stock himself. One telltale clue came in the form of one of his top players in high school: Towns. Calipari insists he did not accept his Dominican Republic head-coaching job with an aim of signing Towns to Kentucky, though. True or not, Towns soon joined Calipari’s Kentucky program and advanced to the 2014 Final Four during their sole year together in Lexington. After Towns had helped lead Calipari’s Wildcats to an undefeated 38-0 mark, he announced he would forgoing any remaining college eligibility, hiring an agent and officially entering the NBA Draft. That agent? Former college teammate Jabari Parker. CAA attorney Leon Rose served as Wesley’s longtime counsel. Karl Towns Sr. had longstanding connections to Calipari-Rose-Wesley from their roots as Monmouth players he himself played for and as prominent coaches nearby – near where Wesley and Rose began working together back in the ’80s. Towns Sr. was seen pregame on the floor at Rose’s inaugural game as New York exec, as reported by Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic; Wesley also attended prior to being officially hired as assistant execs. Now, Towns’ former Kentucky running mate Booker of CAA should be monitored closely as she stars for Suns team projected with combined salary and luxury tax bills exceeding $430 Million this season. Suns head coach Rick Sundrik was shocked that after their team lost in the opening round of NBA playoffs they still spent more than $40 Million to form their coaching staff, an unprecedented cost tag in hindsight. Due to restrictions in team building imposed by collective bargaining agreement (CBA), team building decisions had become nearly impossible under Suns coach Sundrik’s tenure; due to these constraints he decided to focus their spending in one arena unrestrained by CBA: hiring players. Owner Mat Ishbia abruptly fired Frank Vogel and hired Mike Budenholzer – his second coach since 2013 to oversee an enormous payroll – as their new leader to direct operations of one of the league’s highest payrolls. To put it simply: the Suns have found themselves trapped into an untenable situation. Should the Knicks see themselves sliding quickly through a season, Booker could certainly become available should CAA fail in its role as representing clients – HoopsHype tracking puts CAA as number two overall agency in terms of clientele represented. CAA Sports Agency stands as the premier agency for player salaries worldwide, accounting for well over $1 billion of player earnings–about $250 million more than Klutch Sports Agency–in 2018. Two CAA clients who top its client roster? Towns and Booker made headlines earlier in 2019 for appearing on the cover of Slam magazine to announce they would play together someday alongside close pal D’Angelo Russell (also an CAA client). Could It Happen In New York?The Suns as Potential DominoIf the Suns falter this season, teams may make inquiries regarding Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as potential dominoes to fall. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)When the Knicks set their sights on signing an elite player like Jalen Brunson, it goes beyond any reasonable measure for them to secure him. Consider Jalen Brunson: when his contract expired last summer and they attempted to bring him aboard through negotiations they went above and beyond in an effort to convince him. On the eve of 2022 free agency, Thibodeau and the Knicks hired Jalen’s father as assistant coach – his third stint on one of Thibodeau’s coaching staffs. Many around the league saw this move as part of an agreement to sign him himself later that summer. Three weeks later, the Knicks convinced Brunson to sign with them instead of Dallas Mavericks, offering him a 10-year, $104 million contract (if we thought Wesley Brunson joining his payroll was ambitious, just look up his godson Dajuan Wagner landing Memphis where Calipari coaches). )The league office judged New York’s tactics regarding Brunson as overly ambitious. As such, New York was fined and lost its 2025 second-round selection as punishment. Brunson now holds New York in his hands; now comes the question of whether this edition of the Knicks will become its definitive form, or if Rose still wants another star partner on board – with Brunson and Towns now both All-NBA caliber stars plus former All-Defense members Mikal Bridges and Anunoby already present, these Knicks boast two stars that deserve All-NBA consideration on their rosters. By adding Josh Hart, the Knicks boast one of the finest starting fives in NBA. (Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach ranks them fourth using his new system.) However, recently made transactions leave open the possibility that changes may still come for this team. By agreeing to this trade and sending out certain low-salaried players to Charlotte, New York has successfully reduced its exposure to second apron penalties while creating sufficient breathing room to potentially negotiate contracts in another trade deal. Should they breach that second-apron line, however, the Knicks could only trade players one for one – significantly restricting their pursuit of another star player like Towns. Booker has long been connected to Towns; so their names often go together. (Their agent at CAA, Jessica Holtz-Steinberg, holds Rose as an influence during their time working together). By staying just below the second-apron line, New York has extended this option further into next season. Because Towns is the only Knick with an agreement similar to Booker’s contract, any trade intended to bring them together was once out of reach if New York were reduced to second-apron status. Now though it seems possible that Booker could join Brunson and Towns this season. By signing Anunoby to an extended contract, the Knicks now possess two defensive stalwarts who will bolster their wings position but also give themselves options moving forward. By creating this dynamic, CAA clients make themselves expendable should a star player become available. Bridges is eligible to sign an extension this season but is more likely to do so during offseason negotiations in 2025. Bridges currently makes $23.3 million per season (2024-25) and $24.9 million (2025-26), making him one of the more advantageous value contracts available within the NFL. Bridges was also once a fan favorite on the Phoenix Suns; should they decide to trade Booker away, Bridges may return in what could be seen as something of a homecoming after having been traded away to Brooklyn Nets as part of a package deal for Kevin Durant in 2023. As it currently stands, the Knicks no longer possess any first-round picks to use as trading chips in any potential deal; all such picks were already shipped away in Bridges and Towns deals. Of course, the Suns would love to bolster their draft cupboard, but signing someone of Bridges’ caliber may take priority over that objective. Lest anyone think Booker joining Knicks one day is unrealized hope, Rose has proven otherwise over the past four seasons with his arrival as part of their roster. Few could have predicted Brunson would emerge as one of four top MVP candidates at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza; nor could anyone have anticipated acquiring Anunoby without giving up a first-round pick; nor prying Bridges away from rival Nets. Or the Knicks could acquire Towns as part of their Western Conference finals run, while Suns could provide another potential option to keep Anthony Edwards happy in Minnesota. Minnesota was caught off-guard when they made the surprising move of disbanding a team that just achieved more playoff success in two decades than they have done since 1993. One interpretation could be that Minnesota wanted free up its long-term books so as to pursue other co-stars of Edwards at its discretion. The Timberwolves currently hold an attractive expiring contract in Randle (he holds player options until 2025-26) that could serve as the centerpiece for offloading long-term money from their roster, which makes partnering with Ant-KD Team USA even more intriguing. Durant revealed his admiration for Ant increased significantly after their first-round playoff matchup. When discussing it in detail with Vincent Goodwill at Team USA training camp, Durant shared this opinion. At media day, Ant made sure to name Kevin Durant when responding to reporter queries regarding LeBron James and Stephen Curry this summer in Paris. If the Suns intended on offering Durant up for sale later on as part of a fire sale process, it seems unlikely they would take on Towns’ large long-term salary commitment. Rudy Gobert and Randle are two contracts slated to expire within their current contracts: $43.8 Million for Gobert and $28.9 Million for Randle (both have player options for 2025-2026). As an underperforming second-tier team, the Timberwolves do not possess enough flexibility to combine contracts involving Randle and Jaden McDaniels in order to match Durant’s current $51.2 million salary. But there’s still time before the trade deadline or next summer to shake things up and make an Ant-KD pairing viable.The Knicks-Wolves trade could prove pivotal; Rose told Breen four years ago that this business relies heavily on relationships; Towns joining was proof of this fact; should Suns implosion occur, these bonds might even tighten further.