Recently, Kevin Pelton of ESPN revisited some of the more notable transactions from the 2024 offseason. These are moves that he gave grades to the teams involved right after they happened. Pelton regraded those transactions a year later, including the Julius Randle/Karl-Anthony Towns trade. His regrade for the Timberwolves was slightly better than the grade he gave to them originally.
Looking at the Julius Randle/Karl-Anthony Towns trade one year later
It was before training camp last year that the Timberwolves ended their nine-year run with Towns. They dealt him to the Knicks in a three-team deal that netted them Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a 2025 first round pick (via the Pistons).
When the trade was completed, Pelton gave the Knicks a B+ and the Wolves a B. The recent regrade gave the Knicks the same mark, but Minnesota went up half a letter grade to a B+. Deeming this trade a win-win makes sense as both teams reached the conference finals.
To start last season, the trade didn’t look as if it was panning out for Minnesota. A conference finalist in 2024, they were just a .500 team after 34 games. There was a viral moment where Rudy Gobert was clearly frustrated with Randle for not feeding him the ball, and he purposely received a three-second violation. DiVincenzo’s shot wasn’t falling with regularity, and then he missed action with a toe injury.
The chemistry for the team clearly improved as the season went on. The Timberwolves went 32-16 in their final 48 regular season contests, and they once again reached the Western Conference finals. Randle exorcised his playoff demons from his time with the Knicks (particularly in the first two rounds), and DiVincenzo shot nearly 40% from beyond the arc for the season.
Clear winner of this deal can't be made at this moment
As Pelton mentioned, this trade will take years to say who won the deal. With the first round pick the Wolves acquired, they selected center Joan Beringer 17th overall out of France. It’s yet to be known how he will fare at the NBA level. Pelton did bring up that Randle, DiVincenzo, and Beringer will make less combined than Towns in 2025-26. That helped allow them to bring back Naz Reid without going over the second apron.
A winner of the trade would likely be crowned if one of these two teams wins a championship for their long-suffering fan bases. The Knicks haven’t won it all since 1973. The Timberwolves have yet to reach the NBA Finals, never mind win a title.