Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was finally able to address Friday night’s blockbuster trade. The deal was made official Wednesday afternoon, and Finch discussed it after practice at Mayo Clinic Square.

The Timberwolves received three-time All-Star Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo from the Knicks, while reacquiring Keita Bates-Diop and also receiving a first-round pick via Detroit.

The Knicks received four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and sent Charlie Brown, DaQuan Jeffries and Duane Washington Jr. to the Hornets, along with two second-round picks, and acquired the draft rights to center James Nnaji.

***Click the video box above to watch Finch discuss adding Randle, DiVincenzo, and Bates-Diop***

 Finch fondly reflected on his time with Towns and praised him for how welcoming he was upon being hired midway through the 2020-21 season to replace Ryan Saunders, with whom Towns had a close relationship.

“Performance wise, one of the most skilled players I’ve ever coached, no doubt about it. Incredibly talented player who did a lot of amazing things in last year’s playoffs. That doesn’t happen without his contribution on both ends of the floor, for sure,” Finch said. “Just a really good guy, big for the community. So it’s always hard. It just is. You don’t think about the human side of things when you’re contemplating these types of moves, but when they happen, that’s the first thing that comes to mind.”

Randle was the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2021, when he led the Knicks to their first playoff berth since 2013, and the Knicks went to the postseason in three of his five seasons in New York after being one of the league’s worst teams before he arrived. The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference semifinals the last two years, though Randle missed the postseason last season after surgery for a dislocated shoulder.

“Julius played a major role in establishing the foundation and culture of our team and we cannot thank Julius enough for what he did for this city and organization both on and off the court,” Knicks president Leon Rose said.

DiVincenzo averaged a career-high 15.5 points last season, his only one with the Knicks, and his career-best 283 3-pointers made were third in the NBA and set a single-season franchise record.

For the Timberwolves, DiVincenzo was the vital part of the deal for added depth on the wing. Finch said the club was not financially motivated to move Towns’ contract, even if they were on track to pass the second apron of the luxury tax.

“Our ownership was and is committed to paying large amounts of tax for this team to be highly competitive. That hasn’t changed,” Finch said. “This deal in totality checks a lot of boxes. We think it’s a great basketball trade. We think it makes us deeper in a lot of ways and in ways that we needed. It does give us flexibility and mechanisms to keep remaking the team going forward. That, more than anything, that whole package there was the reasons for the deal. But it doesn’t change either our expectations coming into the season. We still have a very, very talented roster, the same core as last year and we’ve got two great weapons to add to that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report