There have been plenty of concerns about Julius Randle ever since he officially joined the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the Wolves struggling consistently on offense, they have encountered plenty of problems using certain lineups where Randle is on the floor, and he has certainly not helped their troubles when it comes to scoring in clutch time.
But another factor that has made many doubt Randle's fit with this team is his overall attitude and approach. This is something that is generally not able to be measured with any kind of statistic, but it is evident in his actions when watching the games.
The latest example of this came on Wednesday during the Timberwolves' one-point loss at home to the Golden State Warriors. At the end of the fourth quarter, an odd situation arose wherein the clock operator needed to put a small amount of time back on the game clock before the contest would officially end. It was a one-point game, but the contest was essentially already decided with the Warriors controlling the ball on the opposite side of the court Minnesota would need to score on.
Still, Julius Randle opted to leave the court before play had technically ended. In ESPN's broadcast of the game, he can be seen leaving the Timberwolves' bench and walking to the tunnel before a few seconds were put back on the clock.
Bad vibes from Julius Randle, who has been increasingly benched during clutch time in Minnesota. Left before the final buzzer on national TV on Wed.
— Mr. Statistician Face Man (@tomhaberstroh) January 17, 2025
On the latest @KevinOConnorNBA Show: pic.twitter.com/7FmLZAlbcW
Randle left Minnesota's bench early on Wednesday
It is behavior like this that make fans in Minnesota wonder where his head is at. Others reported seeing Randle standing away from the huddle during the team's final timeout, and being the only player on the bench not cheering after Rudy Gobert forced a crucial turnover.
Now, some of this could simply be a byproduct of Randle's personality. We have seen him to be pretty stoic, but even so, he has to know there is a time and a place to do these kinds of things. Walking away from the bench looking dejected and leaving your teammates is not coming purely from a place of having a stoic personality.
When the game ended on Wednesday, it was Naz Reid in the closing lineup over Randle. There is not a lot of evidence to suggest this is hinting at Julius being traded anytime soon, but it certainly does not bode well for team chemistry moving forward.