Five takeaways on Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. Plus, is Derrick Rose a Hall of Famer?

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Today marks the rest of the NBA media days, meaning the offseason is officially over! Expect stories about the muscle players added or weight they lost! And, best of all, The Bounce is back to five days a week!

Five biggest things about KAT to Knicks

Late Friday night, Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski informed us of an agreed-upon trade that brings four-time All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks in exchange for Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle and a protected first-round pick from the Pistons. (The deal is still materializing to ensure salary numbers match up for New York and Minnesota.) The Knicks have to juggle some things and roster spots to finalize this deal, but it’s expected to happen pretty quickly, though I wouldn’t expect players to participate in their new teams’ media days.

We have a lot to unpack, but these are my five takeaways:

Oh, and by the way, I’m unsure if Robinson is a big fan of what’s happening.

Does Derrick Rose belong in the Hall of Fame?

If, 12 years ago, you told me I had written for that Jrue Holiday is absolutely a Hall of Famer but questioned if Derrick Rose will make the HOF, my first response would’ve been, “What’s ?” Then, it would have been wild to actually examine if the youngest MVP in league history was going to end up more accomplished than that good defensive guard for the 76ers. After Rose, 35, announced his retirement last week, let’s tackle the question: Is he headed to the Hall?

Rose was on track to do it in the first few years of his career. Then, his body failed him. He also had off-court issues. While he was able to carve out a secondary NBA career as a role player, it didn’t follow nearly the same superstar trajectory he was on originally, so let’s dive in:

Final verdict: I don’t think he’ll get in on the first ballot, but eventually the North American Committee, Contributors Committee or Veterans Committee will vote him in. Ultimately, that MVP will remind everybody of the track he was once on.

And Liberty for all?

Yesterday saw the first action of the 2024 WNBA playoff semifinals, and the Aces are officially on alert. Their quest for the second three-peat in WNBA history hit a pretty big speed bump with the Liberty making their own statement. Then, in the other series, the Sun stole home-court advantage away from the Lynx. This is where the semifinals stand after the respective Game 1s:

New York 87, Las Vegas 77 | Liberty lead series 1-0

The Liberty won’t get the poetic attempt at revenge on the Aces for last year’s WNBA Finals, with this showdown happening  the championship round, so they’ll have to settle for preventing Las Vegas from even getting there. Breanna Stewart saw A’ja Wilson and the Aces in front of her and chose to light them up. Stewie had 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field to go with five rebounds and four assists. Sabrina Ionescu helped with 21 points and five assists. Even though the Liberty were a little sloppy with the ball, they simply had too much firepower for an Aces team that shot just 28 percent from deep.

Spike Lee is in the house for Liberty-Aces.

𝙉𝙤𝙬 it feels like playoff basketball in New York 🗽

🎥 @nylibertypic.twitter.com/xvYvzNzSZ2

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 29, 2024

We also had a moment with director, Knicks fan and now Liberty fan Spike Lee showing up to Barclays Center to heckle Kelsey Plum and the rest of the Aces. After the gaem, Plum mentioned she told Spike to talk louder as he was heckling. We’ll see if the Liberty can back up Spike’s words again on Tuesday when they’re at Barclays Center for Game 2.

Connecticut 73, Minnesota 70 | Sun lead series 1-0

When you have the two best defensive teams in the league facing off, you’re going to see some severe scoring droughts. Fortunately for the Sun, they managed to turn the water off for the Lynx’s offense at the right time in the fourth quarter. Minnesota dominated the second and third quarter 46-34 to take control of the game. But the Sun kept chipping away by moving the ball before completely shutting down the Lynx. They allowed just 4 of 18 shots from the field for eight points by the Lynx in the fourth quarter.

Napheesa Collier, who dropped 80 points in her two first-round games, was slowed down to just 19 points on 7-of-16 from the field, including a desperation 3-point attempt to try to tie it at the end of regulation that wasn’t even close. Alyssa Thomas’ 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists nearly notched her fifth career postseason triple-double – there are only other combined trip-dubs in WNBA playoff history (Courtney Vandersloot in 2021, Sheryl Swoopes in 2005). Marina Mabrey knocked down more 3-pointers (six) than the Lynx (five). And now Minnesota has to make sure it leaves home with a split when it plays Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Watch all SIX of Marina Mabrey’s triples in Game 1 vs. the Lynx 🎯

20 PTS | 6-11 3PM | 5 REB | 3 AST#WelcometotheW | #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google pic.twitter.com/DCorwNxqJu

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 30, 2024

The Engine doesn’t stop WORKIN’ 🔥

Alyssa Thomas flipped the playoff switch and never looked back! Tonight, she nearly logged another triple-double with 17 PTS, 10 REB, and 9 AST, leading the Sun to a Game 1 victory#WelcometotheW | #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google pic.twitter.com/sdxOfiTi5R

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 30, 2024

Zion Williamson is ready to get revenge on everybody.

The Nuggets know exactly how hard winning another title will be.

It’s no surprise Joe Mazzulla has some bizarre practice drills.

Most-clicked in Thursday’s newsletter: People are really excited about the Clippers opening the Inuit Dome.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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