Timberwolves make final Julius Randle decision for preseason opener
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The Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off a stunning blockbuster trade a week ago when they dealt longtime face of the franchise Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for a package headlined by Julius Randle. Randle figures to play a huge part in the Timberwolves’ ongoing quest for a championship, and fans could very well see him play alongside Anthony Edwards on an NBA court for the first time as Minnesota gets its preseason run going on Friday with a clash against the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, Randle will not yet suit up for the Timberwolves’ preseason opener, according to head coach Chris Finch (via Dave McMenamin of ESPN). Bringing him along slowly appears to be the move, especially when Randle missed a chunk of time to end the 2023-24 season after dislocating his right shoulder.
There is little incentive to rush Randle back in his injury recovery process, even though it seems like he has fully recuperated from the injury that ended his final season with the Knicks. Preseason is not completely meaningless, but it’s as close as it gets to being so in the grand scheme of the NBA season, and the Timberwolves are understandably playing the long game.
The good news is that Randle is looking healthy; despite not suiting up for the Timberwolves’ preseason opener, he was seen putting up shots and nailing triples during shootaround.
Via Shad Powers of The Desert Sun:
Here's Julius Randle raining 3s during Timberwolves shoot around before tonight's preseason game vs. Lakers at @AcrisureArena@realmnsportsfan@TWolvesNationCP@LetsTalk_Wolvespic.twitter.com/g6xr05LwyG
— Shad Powers (@shad_powers) October 4, 2024
There are around three weeks to go before the regular season begins, and the Timberwolves will have their work cut out for them in the immediate future. It’s unclear yet if Minnesota will call upon Randle to start at the four in a straight swap for Towns, as there is a chance that Naz Reid earns a promotion to the starting lineup to maintain some semblance of floor-spacing in a frontcourt alongside Rudy Gobert.
Julius Randle to play a huge role for the Timberwolves
The loss of Karl-Anthony Towns will be huge for the Timberwolves. Towns has been an elite marksman from deep from the moment he stepped foot in the league, and big men who can stroke it as well as he does from beyond the arc opens up the possibility of some creative lineup combinations. After a trying 2022-23 campaign, the Timberwolves finally figured out how to maximize their supersized frontcourt of Towns and Gobert, and they looked poised to continue their ascent after making it to the Conference Finals last season.
However, with the core getting very expensive, the Timberwolves decided to trade Towns and his supermax contract for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Randle is a major spacing downgrade from Towns. But one would think that the Timberwolves got a scrub in return with the way fans talk about the 29-year-old forward, when that is evidently not the case.
Randle is a much more natural playmaker than Towns, and he too could soak up a ton of pressure on the offensive end. Randle’s presence means that the Timberwolves’ floor on offense stays relatively high, as he could create shots for himself and for others out of thin air. The Timberwolves will need to rein in his poor habits (shot selection, tunnel vision), however, to make it work.
Even then, the Timberwolves have another gifted big-man shooter in Naz Reid; Reid is a lights-out shooter from three as well, and he proved in the playoffs that he can hold his own in the grandest of stages.
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