NBA News Round-Up, Sep. 22-23: Shaq & Dwight Howard engage in Instagram beef; 8 NBA Teams interested in trading for Jimmy Butler
The weekend of September 22nd and 23rd was the last one without NBA basketball because the preseason is set to tip-off on Friday when the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Melbourne United in Philadelphia. With the Dallas Mavericks and 76ers set to play the NBA Global Games in China this year, both franchises held their media day on Friday while most of the remaining franchises are scheduled to have it on Monday.
There isn't usually a lot of buzz at this time of the year, with most squads looking to come together after a long hiatus and begin another journey (season) together. If there is any story being followed, it is if a player is yet to agree on a contract extension with his current team (JR Smith back in 2016). That was the case for 2016 Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves up until Saturday.
We catch up on that and all the buzz from everything that went down over the weekend:
#1 KAT and Timberwolves sign a 5-year extension
He could have silenced all the talks of a reported rift with Jimmy Butler by signing his rookie extension back in July, like his Kentucky teammate and current Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker did, but for no precise reason reported, Towns waited until the weekend before media day to put pen to paper.
While ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski did report the deal, Towns wasn't far behind by making the announcement himself on social media:
The deal is reported to include $190 million owed to Towns over a 5-year period, undoubtedly making him the longtime franchise cornerstone, irrespective of what the team management does with Butler. Since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2015 by the Timberwolves, Towns has averaged 21.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 blocks in 246 games played while also earning a Third Team All-NBA selection.