The atmosphere inside Madison Square Garden shifted from competitive to combustible when the Knicks’ hosted the Portland Trail Blazers. And it had nothing to do with the Blazers. Karl-Anthony Towns’ frustrations spilled over both during the game and in the sidelines, taking away the spotlight from his stellar performance. While the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes are heating up, the Knicks’ internal strife is looking a lot bigger than it should be.

KAT was a rebounding machine, tallying 20 to go with his 14 points. Six of them were in six minutes! And he was instrumental in leading the Knicks to a 127-97 win. But the game was not going the way he wanted.

He was apparently frustrated with not getting the ball enough and the lack of ball movement. Social media users shared a few moments when KAT was open but his teammates didn’t pass the ball. The lack of touches made him lash out at a teammate.

Cameras caught him having words with Mitchell Robinson. Now what was said it unclear. Robinson also looked frustrated. Some theorized that the Knicks’ backup rebounder was in fiery agreement with whatever KAT was saying. Others firmly believe he was mad at Robinson who had two points, seven rebounds, and two assists tonight.

Despite extending their winning streak to five games and Jalen Brunson racking up 10k career points, the underlying stress of the Knicks’ looming roster changes became impossible to ignore. Karl-Anthony Towns’ outburst just showed the pressure on every player in New York is reaching a boiling point as the trade deadline looms closer.

Karl-Anthony Towns might benefit from Knicks getting Giannis Antetokounmpo

With the Bucks’ season spiraling, the New York Knicks are the most popular landing spot for Giannis Antetokounmpo. That blockbuster trade could mean major changes in New York. The trade package would have to be lucrative to have a Giannis in the Big Apple. And if the trade rumor mill is right, Karl-Anthony Towns is top of that list.

His apparent frustrations with the Knicks are a lot similar to what Giannis is feeling with the Bucks. It might be a mutually beneficial exit plan for both teams and players.

But a lot of the Knicks’ trade plans depend on Guerschon Yabusele and Mitchell Robinson. If they can move Yabusele’s salary off their roster, they could give Robinson an extension. For both, they could have a better trade package for the Greek Freak.

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But Mike Brown has found a way to make Robinson very effective in the rotation and made him valuable to the Knicks. He’s even taken extra efforts to show the organization he’s worth keeping.

Towns’ max contract remains the most logical financial pivot to make the numbers in a Giannis trade work. And if he’s also frustrated, maybe this is the ideal time to pull the trigger on a blockbuster move.