There was always a good relationship between Towns and Edwards, even as Edwards became the organization’s top priority in recent seasons, taking a spot Towns had held since the team took him No. 1 overall in 2015. Their relationship never faltered in the face of outside chatter that might have driven other teammates apart.

Karl-Anthony Towns says he believed he was going to finish out his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves up until three weeks ago, when