Karl-Anthony Cities might now not be “flabbergasted” – the phrase he used to explain his response to the blockbuster commerce that despatched him to the Knicks – however the shock hasn’t worn off but both.
He is nonetheless adapting to his new environment, nonetheless getting used to new teammates, and nonetheless attempting to take care of the seismic change in his life.
He has but to discover a new place to reside and has solely spent a number of days in New York for the reason that shocking transfer.
“Even at dinner final evening, my girlfriend and I have been having dinner. She checked out me and he or she simply patted me on the shoulder and he or she mentioned, “Can you actually consider that is our life now?” the gifted 7-foot Piscataway native mentioned Friday. “And we’re each nonetheless in shock.” It is undoubtedly nonetheless there. I’ve moments the place even for me, I am on social media, very uncommon moments, the place I get a Timberwolves replace on my cellphone, and I am somewhat confused by a variety of issues.
It has been an actual whirlwind.
Three days earlier than the Knicks’ media day, information broke that they have been buying and selling for Cities, 28, and sending Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves.
Then it was off to Charleston, SC for coaching camp.
The common season is now 10 days away.
That is rather a lot to course of in a short while.
Add to that Cities will see his former staff, the Timberwolves, Sunday evening on the Backyard in a preseason recreation.
Speak about unusual coincidences.
“Yeah, it’s going to be bizarre,” Cities mentioned with a smile. “It’s going to be very bizarre on Sunday.”
Whereas discussing the Timberwolves, Cities praised level guard Mike Conley Jr., who turned 37 on Friday, and scoffed on the concept of calling bullshit on Anthony Edwards on Sunday.
“That’s my brother,” he mentioned. “I hear his identify and I begin to smile.”
In 9 seasons in Minnesota, Cities was a four-time All-Star and helped the Timberwolves attain the Western Convention Finals final spring.
He grew to become a max contract participant.
After which, abruptly, he disappeared.
He is nonetheless getting used to his new life, though he does not essentially look misplaced as far as a Knick.
In his Backyard debut, he scored 25 factors and added 12 rebounds and two blocks in a win over the Wizards, showcasing the expertise the Knicks can now boast from beneath heart.
A Cities-Jalen Brunson pick-and-roll appeared dynamic at instances within the preseason, with two sharpshooters forcing the protection to choose their poison.
Cities credited everybody with the Knicks, from coaches to teammates to executives, with making him really feel snug in his new house, on and off the court docket.
“They’ve been affected person with me and proceed to search out methods to assist me via this course of,” he mentioned.
Perhaps going through the Timberwolves on Sunday can be good for Cities, as a strategy to give him some closure. It’ll in all probability be unusual for him.
However in the long run, it may very well be constructive.
Get the reunion out of the way in which earlier than the matches begin counting.
“It’s enterprise. That’s the sport,” Cities mentioned. “I’ve to go on the market and compete at a excessive degree.”
