Karl-Anthony Towns opens up: 'I feel like a Knick'

YAS ISLAND, Abu Dhabi — In the opulence of Abu Dhabi, Karl-Anthony Towns is at home, whether it’s camel rides through the desert or fine dining, taking it all in. And it’s the same in New York City, where he and his longtime girlfriend, Jordyn Woods, are subject to celebrity sightings — although he insists it’s more her than him.

But the thing for Towns is it isn’t about the affluence of Abu Dhabi, the spotlight of New York or even the quiet chill of Minnesota. It’s that wherever he is, he wants to really, really be there, in the moment, taking it all in.

Last month it was Lexington, Kentucky, as he was inducted into the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame. In speaking to the current team, there was one point he stressed, telling the players, “Stay in the present. Don't think about the future, the past. You already took care of what you needed to do to get to the present. So stay in the present. Enjoy being teammates with each other. Enjoy this moment in time, because you may never be in a room again with this much talent.”

So whether it was 7,000 miles from home, where he was spending the week with the Knicks as they were part of a pair of preseason games in Abu Dhabi, or in New York, less than 70 miles from where he grew up in New Jersey, he is trying to live the lesson he imparted to the young players.

'Whole new chapter'

Towns came to the Knicks a year ago on the eve of training camp, barging into a team that already had won 50 games the previous season and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals in two straight seasons. He was either the last piece to push the franchise forward or the move that could disrupt what had been built. And with that pressure placed on his 7-foot frame, he embraced it all — coming home after nine seasons with the Timberwolves, now playing in front of friends and family, and willingly fitting into a team already built.

“All of them are different experiences,” he told Newsday in an interview Thursday morning on — perhaps fittingly — New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus. "I was just talking to Deuce [McBride] about that. I’m so now intertwined into the Knicks' organization, sometimes you see the Timberwolves come up and it doesn’t — I feel like a Knick. I feel like it’s a whole new chapter. Blessed to have the book that’s been written so far. This chapter is an exciting one and I want to finish it off strong.”

His debut season in New York helped push the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals as he earned All-NBA honors for the third time in his career. And still, when it came to an end, there was finger-pointing from outside — and inside, too, as coach Tom Thibodeau was fired after the season.

Some of it was put on Towns. Had he done enough, defended well enough, scored the way All-NBA players are counted on? (Even as he averaged 24.8 points and 12.2 rebounds in the conference finals.)

It prompted Josh Hart to comment this week,  “If they’re blaming him, I think it’s stupidity.”

If New York brings the highs — the celebrations outside Madison Square Garden, the Central Park watch parties — it also can be stifling, the pressure building with little way for a 7-foot celebrity to hide.

“I mean, it’s always worth it. I appreciate our organization and the fandom that comes with what we did last year,” he said. “But what makes it worth it is seeing results for all the work you’ve put in since you were a boy, since you were young. You asked for this opportunity to be an NBA player, and to be an NBA player and have success as a team and individually for us is what really makes it worthwhile for us.

“Things change. You have kids, and for your kids to be able to witness this kind of history and moments in life and sports history makes it worth it. For me, it’s my family, being able to have my father, my grandmother and whoever is out there be able to watch me play basketball in person, my Dominican family see something special in the city. It really brings a smile to my heart.”

New position, new challenge 

The job this season has changed. With Mike Brown taking over as coach, there is an emphasis on running the floor and Towns is likely to be shifted from center to power forward to make room for Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup — a move the team could not make last season with Robinson injured and sidelined or limited for most of the season.

The first test Thursday seemed to work fine, with Robinson dominating the glass and Towns free to roam offensively, utilizing his skills as a shooter and passer. But even though he took a similar role for his final two seasons in Minnesota after the Timberwolves acquired Rudy Gobert, he is unsure of what this one will bring — just that he will handle it willingly.

“I think for me, I’ve got a lot of experience playing both sides now,” Towns said. “I’m still figuring all this out now for this year’s team. Forgive me, I’m trying to figure it out myself where I fit in and where I can be most effective still. What I can say is I have experience playing both positions. I think it’s going to be a little more, feeling more seamless.

“Usually, you walk into a game, you know you’ll be the five today. You walk into a game, you know you’ll be the four today. I think for me, it’s going to be more of like I could be five for four minutes and then be four for two minutes, then go back to the five. So I think that’s going to be a little different for me, where I’m going to be so fluid on what my position is. I’m working on just making sure I’m ready for whatever the case may be with us, what I’m learning about our team and the way we want to play.”

Wherever he is, in life or in the lineup, Towns insists he will be just fine.

“I’m going to do whatever is needed to win,” he said. “That’s always what I wanted to do and how I work. So nothing shall change this year.”

And he will show up, take the heat if he has to and enjoy the praise when it comes. As he admits, he can’t hide in New York — and he wouldn’t want to.

“I mean, it’s either I’m the problem or she’s the problem. Most of the time she’s the problem,” he said of the attention he gets out with Woods, a television personality whose first Wikipedia reference calls her “an American socialite” and might have more fans than he does.

“Nah, it’s a blessing. I said it before,'' Towns said. "The greatest currency you can garner in New York is respect. To be respected by the fans and everyone in the city, it means a lot. But you’ve got a new year, a new slate and you’ve got to earn that respect again. That’s what I plan to do this year.”