The Knicks have been on a bad run and may look to trade. As per NBA Central on X: "The Knicks are considering trading Karl-Anthony Towns and have discussed potential deals with the Magic, Hornets, and Grizzlies, per @StevePopper".
For me the Hornets trading for KAT doesn't make sense. If the Hornets want a star they should aim higher in my opinion as I think KAT is overpaid and is a net negative defender. The Hornets would also struggle to make the salary work unless it was a deal resolved around LaMelo for KAT which doesn't make sense for either team. The Knicks adding LaMelo alongside Brunson would be disastrous defensively, and if the Hornets had to build their youth around either LaMelo or KAT I don't see why they'd choose KAT.
For me the Magic also don't make sense. As much as they have been underwhelming and particularly Paolo has, I don't think they should break up their core 4 of Suggs, Bane, Franz and Paolo just yet. Sending KAT to Orlando without one of these four involved becomes pretty much impossible, and I wouldn't want to give up any of the 4 for him. I think the one out of these four, people may suggest is Paolo but I wouldn't give up on him yet, particularly for KAT.
Out of these teams, Grizzlies make the most sense in my opinion. But only if they are truly blowing it up, which they may have started with by trading Bane for the haul they got in the summer. Their next two players to sell would be Ja and JJJ and returns for these could put them in an extremely healthy draft position going forward (despite neither player being at their highest trade value currently). Trading JJJ and Jerome here, has Memphis getting Washingtons 2026 first rounder (Protected 1-8), and then swap rights to New York's 2030 and 2032 draft picks, as well as two unprotected second rounders. This is pretty much all of the draft capital NY could trade. If they rebuild currently, these swaps with New York could be very valuable as it would be unlikely that the current New York core would still be contending by this point. They'd also attain KAT who's stats could inflate whilst being the Grizzlies number 1 and could be flipped next season to a desperate contender for some further draft capital. JJJ's contract after next year is a bit of an overpayment in my opinion and would become harder to move as it increases from the $35m it is currently so moving off him now could be smart. Ty Jerome was a 6MOY contender last year but is yet to feature due to injury, and at his age he wouldn't be part of a Grizzlies rebuild.
New York would add a former DPOY and elite defender in JJJ, who can still do 70-80% of what KAT can on offense, but is not a liability defensively. Although he is a weak rebounder, New York have Mitchell Robinson who is a great rebounder and Josh Hart who also picks up a good amount of boards. The Knicks would add Ty Jerome and he could be a great bench player and help the offense when their without Brunson if he could come back healthy with his form of last year (12.5 points, 3.4 assists, 64% True Shooting, in 20 minutes a game). This would overall improve the Knicks in my opinion if they want to continue on going all-in within a weak Eastern conference. I think as long as Brunson and KAT are starting together, due to their defensive weaknesses, teams like Boston and Detroit will fancy beating them come the playoffs.
New Knicks Starting Line-up: PG - Brunson SG - McBride SF - Bridges PF - OG C - JJJ Bench: Jerome, Clarkson, Shamet, Hart, Robinson
This team still has flaws, like a lack of depth in the frontcourt, but would be a much better and well rounded team. The question is if Memphis want to enter a full rebuild or not, and if so what would JJJ command on the market as well as how highly would Memphis regard KAT. It wouldn't surprise me if JJJ went for a haul of picks like Bridges, due to his defensive capabilities paired with his offensive skillset.