Karl-Anthony Towns had a number of preexisting links to the New York Knicks in Tom Thibodeau as his former head coach and Leon Rose as his former agent turned lead executive. Additionally, Knicks senior vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas previously ran the front office of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Sources describe Rosas as “Towns’ foremost fan in the Knicks’ organization” even ahead of Rose. Rosas had been pushing for the Knicks to attempt to trade for Towns even before the free agent departure of Isaiah Hartenstein and the worsening injury concerns for Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks hired Rosas as a consultant in February 2022 following his dismissal by the Wolves in September 2021. When the Knicks pursued a trade for Donovan Mitchell during the 2022 offseason, Rosas reportedly handled the negotiations directly with the Utah Jazz.