Former NBA star defends Karl-Anthony Towns after Knicks loss as criticism mounts

Sweet Lou wants no more KAT attacks.Social media has been ablaze with controversy as Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns has received loads of criticism for his uneven performance during the Eastern Conference finals against the Pacers.Towns, whom the Knicks acquired shortly before training camp, has been the center of potential trade rumors as fans clamor for a big move to put the team over the top.But former three-time Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams wants fans to ease up.“They gotta get off KAT back,” Williams said on “Run it Back” recently.“We also gotta stop allowing X and Instagram to be our GMs.Ain’t a lot of KATs laying around where you can just get rid of him and feel like you’re going to have a better opportunity to win basketball games.“If you got an opportunity to go get a Giannis (Antetokounmpo) or somebody, sure, you take a look at everything.

But other than that, that was his first season as a New York Knick and they got to the Eastern Conference finals.There’s a lot of room for adjustments to be made … If it wasn’t for KAT, y’all would’ve been sent home 72 hours earlier anyways.”Towns averaged 21.4 points per game and 11.6 rebounds in the playoffs, a steady increase from the year prior when he was a member of the Timberwolves and tallied 19.1 points and nine rebounds per game.However, this series highlighted his defensive deficiencies and some have questioned whether he and Jalen Brunson he is the co-star to work alongside Jalen Brunson.Some are calling for Towns, a 29-year-old who just made third team All-NBA, to be traded for pennies on the dollar.The same can be said for coach Tom Thibodeau, who may be looking for a new job despite bringing the team to their first conference finals appearance since 2000.

There had been some speculation that Towns could be included in a trade for Antetokounmpo, although it is unclear if the Bucks’ star will be traded this offseason.Williams seems to believe in this group of Knicks.“...