CHARLESTON, S.C. — Soft.
It’s the label that has followed Karl-Anthony Towns for years but was shot down by a person who worked closely for years with the Knicks center.
“Finesse player? Yes. Soft player? No,” the NBA source told The Post. “I think it’s the whole thing that happened with Jimmy Butler. In today’s world, somebody can write a script about you and that s–t never changes.”
Indeed, there’s an important distinction.
Towns, perhaps because of his affable personality and game being so perimeter-based, hasn’t shaken the reputation that was shaped by Butler’s taunts from six years ago — when the fiery forward was upset about his contract situation and targeted Towns, his Timberwolves teammate who had just signed a super-max extension.
The fact that Butler left the Timberwolves and went to three conference finals with the Heat became an indictment on Towns, a form of validation, albeit misguided, of the soft talk.
But there’s a difference between being soft and being a stretch-the-floor 7-footer who works hard but fouls too much and isn’t a good defender.
The latter is Towns. And it’s up to Tom Thibodeau to make it work.
“Thibs should understand this — you don’t trade for an offensive player so he becomes the best defensive player,” the source said. “The kid has been in the league for eight years, he is what he is. The best way he can contribute for you is to let him score. He’s 20 and 10 every night and he can give you a 30-point outburst regularly if you go to him. There’s no sense in bringing him in there and trying to turn him into Clint Capela or Rudy Gobert or Mitchell Robinson. He’s much more like Joel Embiid without the power.”
Thibodeau should have a good sense of Towns’ strengths after coaching the center for 2 ½ years in Minnesota.
In their best season together in 2017-18, the Timberwolves were fourth in the NBA in offensive rating and 25th in defensive rating — the opposite ratio of what you’d expect from a Thibodeau team, especially back then.
In New York, Towns, who was absent from the first day of training camp Tuesday because the trade wasn’t yet finalized, is joining a roster lacking in rim protection but with strong defensive wings in OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.
That side of the ball has question marks — and the concerns were only enhanced by the Towns acquisition.
On offense, however, the ceiling with Towns is undeniably higher and highlighted by the potential of a Brunson-Towns pick-and-roll fiesta.
After experiencing being No. 2 on Minnesota because of the ascension of Anthony Edwards, Towns, who dealt well with the demotion by most accounts, seems a perfect offensive fit for a star point guard.
“It can be very good,” Brunson said Tuesday about the Knicks offense.
“To me, that should be a very dynamic duo because Jalen knows how to pick out a spot where a guy is most efficient,” an NBA talent evaluator said. “And Karl can give you diversity in pick-and-roll. You can take advantage of the other team’s center.
“You’ll be impressed with how versatile KAT’s scoring prowess is. He can score at the rim, in the middle of the lane, in the midrange, or he’ll knock the s- -t out of 3-point shots.”
The Timberwolves, it should be noted, didn’t so much give up on Towns as they surrendered to the luxury tax.
Given its dire cap situation, the organization, which is in the middle of a contested ownership change, felt compelled to shed salary.
Towns, with his $220 million over four years remaining, was the obvious move.
The Knicks, meanwhile, were aggressive in their pursuit of a center this offseason and held discussions with multiple teams, per sources, before agreeing to ship Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota.
It came together after lengthy negotiations and remained unofficial as of Tuesday evening — though still destined for completion — because of smaller pieces being moved around to match salaries.
“He’s going to be a great piece once he gets here and we’ll go from there,” Brunson said.
Where they go exactly will be dependent on the play of a finesse center, different from soft.
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