There has certainly been a lot of fuss all throughout the Minnesota Timberwolves' season about trading Julius Randle. But as we get closer to the Feb. 6 trade deadline, we can see that the odds of the team actually taking that route look increasingly slim.
It has been reported from multiple people close to the Timberwolves that the front office is not working hard to trade Randle ahead of the deadline. And frankly, that is the correct decision for a number of reasons.
Firstly, there are simply a very small number of reasonable transactions that could be made to move Randle that would immediately and definitively improve this team. Some may think that simply getting Julius off the roster would be addition by subtraction, but I would strongly disagree with that viewpoint.
12 PTS IN 13 MIN. 😤 pic.twitter.com/m5zNNpUqXh
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 30, 2025
Randle's play has validated the Wolves' likely decision not to trade him
Secondly, despite his very real flaws, Randle has been a big lift to this team as of late. The latest evidence of this was his strong performance in Phoenix on Wednesday night. Julius put up 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. It was a strong all-around performance that highlighted just how much the Wolves' starting power forward has improved.
The noise around Randle's production was much more warranted earlier in the season. But lately, he has really turned it on and has been playing at a much higher level. Julius has looked much more committed to being a total team player, hustling on defense and opening up his playmaking as well.
Ultimately, his solid production is proving Minnesota's decision not to move him at the deadline correct. Chris Finch has sung Randle's praises for much of the season, and he is looking like a man whose opinion has been validated as of the last few weeks. It is still questionable whether Julius Randle is the best fit for this team beyond the current season, but the Wolves will be wise to keep him around through the end of the season as they look to move up in the standings.