The Minnesota Timberwolves have a long to-do list this offseason and one of the biggest storylines is the future of Julius Randle.
Randle’s mercurial play seemed to be on the negative end of the spectrum throughout the 2025-26 season and hit rock bottom during the Western Conference semifinals loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Yet, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch defended the veteran forward all season long and continued to do so during a radio appearance with KFAN’s Paul Allen.
“I think Julius’s struggles in the series against San Antonio were my struggles,” Finch said during Wednesday’s episode of the 9 to Noon show. “It’s incumbent upon me to find a way to get him going. I never really could. We just couldn’t do it. Having said that, I thought he did a really good job guarding [Victor] Wembanyama. I thought he did a really good job of playmaking. …So every series is different, we preach that to our guys. Julius was really good for us in the Denver series, and he did a great job in a lot of the things that don’t measure up in the stats sheet. So again, I think the criticism around [Julius]...I can’t stand these overreactions and these strays.”
Finch may think that Randle has done nothing wrong, but anyone who watched him throughout the season knows he was more of a negative presence than a positive one.
While it may ruin Finch’s mood, it’s clear that president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, must remove the temptation for him and do what’s best for the Wolves by trading Randle this summer.
Tim Connelly must throw in the towel on Julius Randle this summer
After coming to Minnesota in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade just ahead of the 2024-25 season, Randle was expected to be even better in his second season with the Timberwolves. To some degree, that was accomplished with his points per game going from 18.7 last season to 21.1 this year. But his rebounds have declined in each of the past four years from 10.0 during the 2022-23 campaign with the New York Knicks to a career-low 6.7 this season.
Randle’s struggles also went beyond the stats. Many times, Randle appeared disinterested or focused on dribbling into nowhere and it threw a giant wrench into the Timberwolves’ offense that was exposed during the playoffs.
Naz Reid also mentioned there was an overall “moodiness” to this year’s team, which some fans think was a shot at Randle.
Still, Finch seems adamant that it’s not Randle’s fault. According to the Wolves’ coach, Randle was asked to dribble into the paint and kick out to the perimeter in Game 3 against the Spurs. While he accomplished that 14 times, the Wolves didn’t get a single point on those possessions.
But that gameplan also could have been in place because Randle wasn’t making shots himself, shooting a combined 12-for-30 in the first two games and going 3-for-12 from the floor in Game 3. In addition, he shot just 34.2 percent from the floor and 19.0 percent on 3-pointers over the six-game series, making him one of the key reasons why the Wolves’ season came to an end.
Finch's unwillingness to call out Randle publicly was a problem throughout the season. After a February loss, the New Orleans Pelicans' Rudy Gobert called out his teammates out for poor effort and openly told the coaching staff to bench players who aren't playing with effort.
People assumed this was about Randle, who Finch never called out or benched, even if he struggled.
Maybe it’s Finch’s previous relationship working with Randle as an assistant on the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2018-19 season. It could also be a sense of pride, believing he can fix Randle with one more year. But entering his age-32 season, Randle is what he is.
Finding a trade partner may be difficult as the rest of the league watched Randle fold during this year’s playoffs. But even if it’s for future assets, moving Randle is a good move to create playing time for Reid and Joan Beringer.
It could also unlock Jaden McDaniels’ offensive potential and take away from the temptation for Finch to bend over backwards for Randle, creating a situation where he didn’t even show up for a postseason exit interview with the media.
At this point, Finch has no plans on giving up on Randle and it could mean Connelly may have to do it for him.
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