In a stunning turn of events, the Minnesota Timberwolves have traded away three-time All-Star Julius Randle.
The Timberwolves have agreed to send Randle and the No. 28 pick in this year's NBA Draft to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-time trade. In order to make this deal work, the Chicago Bulls will acquire Nic Claxton from Brooklyn. As for Minnesota, the front office will only receive the No. 33 overall pick.
"Timberwolves free up significant salary with the remaining two years of Randle's deal, giving them more flexibility to retain Ayo Dosunmu and use exceptions," ESPN insider Shams Charania said. "Nets acquire a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA forward in Randle into their cap space -- plus a first-rounder. Chicago uses part of its space on a talented athletic center, a position of need, with $30 million in room left."
Randle, 31, is under contract for the 2026-27 season with a base salary of $33.3 million. He also has a $35.8 million player option for the following year, but there's a good chance he'll decline it.
While an argument can be made that Randle wasn't the perfect fit for Minnesota, it's surprising to see a player who averaged 21.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game shipped out in a cap-cutting move.
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"The Timberwolves gotta be getting SOMETHING else back," one fan wrote on X.
"The Wolves must be on the brink of doing something major," a second fan said.
"So they got a worse pick back? What am I missing," another fan asked.
"Timberwolves gave up their first round pick just to get rid of Randle," another NBA fan declared.
More moves could be coming.
Now that Randle is about to leave Minnesota, all eyes are on the Timberwolves to see who joins their roster for next season.
If the Timberwolves want to take that next step in the Western Conference, it's imperative that general manager Matt Lloyd finds the right player to pair with Edwards.
There have been some rumblings about Ja Morant joining the Timberwolves, but no deal has been finalized at this time.
