The New York Knicks are making some moves after acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a future first-round pick.

The trade is a stunner as both teams are just days away from the start of training camp in potential contending seasons, but they both feel this is the best trade for them.

Here are three reasons why the Knicks made the deal:

The Knicks needed a center really bad to the point where they didn’t want to go into the season and try to test their current group of depth behind Mitchell Robinson, who suffered an injury last season and needed two surgeries to correct it.

The Knicks also didn’t feel confident in Robinson as their starter when he came back, forcing New York to make a trade.

Without many trade assets, they pulled the trigger on their biggest one, moving Randle in order to bring in Towns.

The Knicks were hoping to get Randle back by the beginning of the regular season, and there wasn’t a whole lot of evidence to suggest that he wouldn’t be healthy.

However, the Knicks didn’t want to waste another season of Randle potentially being hurt. They have the depth at the wing position with Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, and they can all fit next to Jalen Brunson on the court.

The Knicks were willing to work Randle out because he is a three-time All-Star and can fit anywhere, but they likely feel Towns fits more lineups.

The Knicks were negotiating with Randle on a potential extension for over a month, but no progress was made.

Randle has the opportunity to opt out of his player option and become a free agent after the season.

The Knicks likely were unable to come to a resolution and they wanted to make sure they got some value in return. They make this trade potentially on the winning side by acquiring the best player, but they also ensure that they don’t let a major hole flow into their roster.

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