Karl-Anthony Towns is one of those guys that a team like the Timberwolves can build around for years to come. At 22 years old he's already shown so much potential and Minnesota is ready to buy into that. According to Michael Scotto and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Towns and the Wolves are currently in discussions for a max contract extension.
Towns is currently in the final year of his rookie contract before the Wolves would have to offer him a qualifying offer and make him a restricted free agent. Considering the faith and time they've put into him there's no need to let it reach that point. The logical step here for Minnesota is to offer Towns the extension and lock him in for four to five years.
Any time a player is given a max contract there's immediately a discussion on if they deserve that kind of money. In the case of Towns, there's no reason to believe that he isn't a max contract guy. He's improved offensively every year he's been in the NBA and he played a big role in helping the Wolves make their first playoff appearance since 2004.
This isn't to say there aren't flaws in Towns game. He can be a little passive at times on the floor, and that passiveness is frustrating considering how incredibly skilled he is. He hasn't improved much defensively, if at all, since his rookie season. There's also a potential locker room issue between him and Jimmy Butler that could come into play if Butler chooses to not sign the extension he was reportedly offered.
All of these problems are moot though when considering that Towns is only going to get better from here. He's not a perfect player, nobody is, but there's no reason to think that his flaws can't be improved upon. Contract extensions are always a gamble, but this is a gamble worth taking for Minnesota.
