WTF is Going On with Karl-Anthony Towns?

Well, we’ve made it to March and Minnesota Timberwolves big man, Karl-Anthony Towns, has yet to return to practice and nobody has a timetable for his return. There are only 17 games remaining on the schedule.

New info on Karl-Anthony Towns’ injury

But Darren “Doogie” Wolfson did some digging into the matter recently and had some new information to disclose with the Mackey & Judd show on SKOR North Friday. According to his scoop session, Towns went out and got a 2nd opinion on his calf strain. Doogie speculates mid-March as KAT’s earliest possible return.

“Well, I know there has been some second opinions sought. The idea of finding another doctor. So, that’s been part of this process. Late November, he got hurt in that game in Washington DC against the Wizards. Heck, I thought there was a chance he’d be back by late-January. Then, I thought ‘okay, well you know, February’.

Now, we’re into March and he hasn’t practiced with the team yet. He’s been training for a while. He’s been doing stuff on the court for many weeks, he’s been boxing off the court for many weeks, he’s been on trips, now. But, he hasn’t participated in a full practice. So normally, you would do that for a week-ish before you would return to game action. So at this point, we’re looking at mid-March.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

KAT is worried about a Kevin Durant situation

Karl-Anthony Towns has a lot of say in when he returns and he might be uncomfortable with the idea of returning to the floor right now. Wolfson says KAT is worried about his achilles snapping like Kevin Durant’s did when he returned too early from a similar injury. That’s an interesting note.

“It would be nice if [the Timberwolves] were a bit more transparent. You see the Golden State Warriors putting out updates on Steph Curry, the Lakers on LeBron James. The Wolves [on KAT]… Crickets. I can say this, KAT certainly has big say in when he returns and I get it, there’s some fear factor there that ‘I don’t want my achilles to burst, I don’t want this to be a Kevin Durant situation, I need to take this situation incredibly seriously. I can’t rush back. It’s okay to be uber conservative.’ So, there’s some people in KAT’s ear suggesting that route.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

If KAT is worried about snapping his achilles tendon if he were to return, I’m starting to question whether or not he will come back at all this season. He’s either still having pain or feeling resistance in his leg. That’s bad news for the Timberwolves, who need the offensive boost Towns would provide.

Distrust building between Towns and Timberwolves?

Wolfson’s entire report gives vibes of distrust forming between Karl and the team’s medical staff, something that was already being rumored, after Towns expressed frustration with how the Wolves originally handled the public timetable for his return. His people, after all, were the ones pushing for another doctor’s opinion on his injury.

That’s interesting because Jon Krawczynski (The Athletic) told the Lowe Post podcast earlier this week that other teams have already tapped on Tim Connelly to see if KAT could come available in trade talks. So far, they’ve turned teams away. But how long with that continue?

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Here is Darren Wolfson’s full scoop session. The Karl-Anthony Towns conversation begins at the 9:15 mark)