Timberwolves forward Robert Covington has been one of the most-discussed trade candidates leading up to this year’s deadline, and looks like one of the likeliest players to be on the move.
While star teammate Karl-Anthony Towns will understand if Covington is dealt, he admitted in a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune that he’s not thrilled by the idea.
“I think it’s very obvious he’s my best friend on the team, so it would be very difficult if something like that was going to happen,” Towns said of Covington. “But like with Zach LaVine (traded from the Timberwolves to Chicago in 2017) , you know this is a business. So like I said, I’m the one who just plays the game. I don’t get paid to make rosters and stuff like that.”
As Amick and Hine note, Towns said it’s not his job to make roster decisions and expressed confidence in Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to make those calls. Still, given how aggressively the front office has pursued guard D’Angelo Russell, one of Towns’ best friends, it will be interesting to see if the team is willing to part with Covington — another one of KAT’s good friends — if there’s no guarantee that doing so will land D-Lo in Minnesota.
“I don’t get paid to make those decisions,” the Timberwolves’ franchise player said. “Those are tough decisions, but here’s to hoping that I see Cov on Friday, I guess. … He’s a great guy, a great dude. He’s a great player. He’s helped me tremendously and he’s continuing to help me every day. He just gives me such comfort out there.”
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