The upcoming NBA season is still weeks away, but there has been news such as Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker injuring his hand, prompting surgery to fix it and he will be out for about six weeks.

Despite rumors that Karl-Anthony Towns could possibly not re-sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves and go to a contender, that has all been squashed as the big man has signed a big contract to stay with the team. The organization surely had the right mindset as Towns is the cornerstone of the organization.

Home in Minnesota

Karl-Anthony Towns had to realize that Minnesota is his true home and where he should be at this stage in his career.

The player is just 22-years old and has quite a while to go in the league. The Timberwolves are improving as a team overall as they reached the playoffs last season but got knocked out by the Houston Rockets.

According to an article by ESPN "In a deal that cements him as the franchise's long-term cornerstone, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns has agreed to a five-year, $190 million super-maximum extension, league sources" said.

It is clear that the young player is the most important one to the organization, as he can do just about everything on the court and as scary as it seems, has room to improve being young.

Karl-Anthony Towns only improved his three-point shooting, as according to an article by Bleacher Report, the big-man hit "42.1 percent of his 285 three-point attempts."

The player is surely blessed with talent, as aside from being able to shoot threes, he can also rebound, score in the paint, and shoot jumpers. The only outlier is his defense, which can catapult him to be one of the best players in the league.

According to the article from ESPN, Karl-Anthony Towns is deserving of the money because he hasn't missed a game since being in the league. Last season, the player averaged "21.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game."

Towns was also a big fan of rapper Mac Miller, who reportedly passed away weeks ago at the age of 26 due to a drug overdose.

The big man took to Twitter to post a nice video of some of his highlights, getting drafted by the team, and a tribute to the city.

One player left out of the equation

With the extension of Karl-Anthony Towns, this clearly leaves the open door for Jimmy Butler, who, upon joining the team, has not built a good relationship with Towns or Andrew Wiggins. It can be speculated that Towns would not have signed the extension if Butler was staying as their relationship is simply toxic, along with Butler criticizing Wiggins, believing that he has no heart and is just in it for the money.

Karl-Anthony Towns is on the rise and can be a big star in the league, but Andrew Wiggins has not held up his end of the bargain, especially after receiving a huge max contract.

Even with all that talent, Wiggins has not lived up to the hype as sometimes he can be seen daydreaming in the background and being inconsistent. But if Towns can improve, along with Wiggins, this Timberwolves team can make some noise in the powerful West. Not enough to beat some of the top teams, but be competitive.

Jimmy Butler is a great player in the NBA, but it was clear by a lot of evidence that with him on the team it affected the young nucleus and their play faltered as a result. Butler did not trust the big man to barely pass him the ball and Wiggins took a step back as a result as he was not getting enough opportunities to score. Andrew Wiggins regardless, should be more active on the glass and working on his game.

In the playoff series against the Rockets, Towns was ineffective partly because of Butler.

It has to be seen what the team can get for trading away Jimmy Butler, especially since they gave up a lot to get him with draft picks and more. There has been speculation that they are listening to offers from teams for Butler. With Towns' extension and the drama with another player, Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy is surely not going to be a member of the team for much longer.
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