At the end of December, a report circulated that members of the Knicks' front office were monitoring Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns as a potential trade target.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks had been on the lookout for potential star players who could grow disgruntled with their current teams, and Towns could fit the mold.
On Friday, though, Towns shot down any notion that he's looking to get out of Minnesota.
After appearing in his first game back from a knee injury after missing 15 straight, Towns addressed the reports of him being unhappy with the Timberwolves.
"I think you've been around me long enough to know I don't go for all the [expletive]," Towns said, via the Star Tribune. "I just do my job, go home and I know what the real story is. There's a reason those stories are made because people need to sell papers, sell links and clicks, whatever the case may be. I'm here to be a Minnesota Timberwolf. Very fortunate I have a head coach like [Ryan Saunders], a President and friend like [Gersson Rosas]. I'm not worried about all that nonsense.
"Whatever we have to deal with in house, we'll deal with in house, but this ain't the circus like it used to be. This is something that's going to be done as a family. If we have a problem or anything, we'll deal with it internally. We won't have any external forces here adding anything."
Towns signed a five-year, $190 million dollar deal with the Timberwolves in September 2018. The two-time All-Star selection is currently having the best scoring season of his young career, averaging 28.4 points per game to go along with 12.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
SNY's Ian Begley has previously reported that several teams in touch with the Knicks recently came away with the impression that they aren't solely focused on acquiring draft picks, expiring contracts or young players who have struggled with other teams, and that the Knicks have shown an interest in acquiring starter-level players who can help the team in the short-term and in future seasons.