On the latest edition of The Hoops Collective, Brian Windhorst posited a theory as to why Julius Randle has been struggling so much after the All-Star break (prior to Sunday),
"Julius Randle has been terrible by his standards since the All-Star break. There are people who believe that it’s his reaction to being floated in trade discussions, or rumors, for Giannis (Antetokounmpo). I don’t know for sure, but I can tell you that before the All-Star break coming before today’s (Sunday’s) game, he was averaging 22 points and shooting almost 50% from the field. In 11 games since the All-Star break, he was averaging 13 points and shooting 39% from the field before today’s game."
Did Randle let his name being thrown out in trade rumors get to him?
Randle has best game since the All-Star break on Sunday
Now, Windhorst made it clear that Randle’s struggles came before Sunday. That’s because the 31-year-old had one of his best games in quite some time. Despite the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the three-time All-Star dropped 32 points on excellent efficiency (11-of-18 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, 7-of-8 from the foul line). He also chipped in with seven rebounds, six assists, and one block on the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That was the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 12th outing since the break. The first 11 didn’t go anywhere near as well for Randle. He averaged 13.7 points on ugly shooting percentage splits of 39.8/15.2/78.6.
Was playing well before break and after trade deadline
The NBA trade deadline was on February 5 this year. The Timberwolves were often mentioned as one of the teams going hardest after Antetokounmpo. Randle was brought up as someone who may need to be dealt to bring in the two-time MVP.
We know that didn’t happen, and Randle remains with Minnesota. I personally don’t know how much I believe Windhorst’s theory (or what people have been telling Windhorst) on Randle’s post-break struggles. The trade deadline passed over a month ago, and Julius played excellent basketball in some games after the deadline and before the break.
In Minnesota’s last game prior to the break, Randle scored a season-high 41 points on February 11 against the Portland Trail Blazers. The game before that, on February 9, he finished with a triple-double versus the Atlanta Hawks.
That’s where Windhorst’s theory falls flat. Sure, it would be human nature for Randle to be thinking about the potential of needing to pack up and move on to another team. This was just a slump, though, one that Randle hopefully broke out of with his effort on Sunday.