The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns in part because they craved flexibility. Which they need. Because to justify the trade today, you’d have to bend over backward. As the Wolves prepare to play Towns and the Knicks on Friday,

The Knicks were missing their KAT, while the 76ers were without a much larger portion of their litter. With Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined with a sprained right thumb — and as The Post first reported, also a bone chip in the same digit — the Knicks flushed a 16-point first-half lead before barely pulling out a 125-119 overtime win Wednesday night over the Sixers at Wells Fargo Center.