Julius Randle was seen as one of the biggest snubs for the All-Star Game this year. After a somewhat down year (by his standards) in 2024-25, his first for the Minnesota Timberwolves, he would average 20-plus points and 5-plus assists for the fourth time in six seasons.
Last year, the hope was that Randle had ended the narrative that he was an extreme playoff dropper. The now 31-year-old had excellent performances against both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. Any Wolves fan will gladly tell you today thoughhow disappointing Julius has been in his 11 playoff games in 2026.
Meanwhile, the guy he was traded for, Karl-Anthony Towns, is unlocking things in his game that nobody quite knew he had in him. It can’t be easy for the Minnesota fanbase to watch, as many still have a lot of love for the center after he spent his first nine years in Minnesota.
Towns is being utilized like never before
Since the Knicks decided to run more of their offense through Towns, they have become nearly unstoppable. New York has been waiting patiently to find out who their Eastern Conference finals opponent will be after sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers. Their 30-year-old center is playing some incredible basketball.
In his last seven outings (all wins), the 7-footer is averaging 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks. Those averages would be even higher had he played more than 26.3 minutes per game over that time, as he’s sat out some fourth quarters due to Knicks blowouts (also foul trouble). He hasn’t shot the ball often, nor has he needed to. It’s been efficient scoring with shooting percentage splits of 60.0/47.1/85.7 over that time.
We have seen moments where the 2015 first overall pick has shown the ability to be one of the better playmakers from the center position, but never to this level. Towns has three games of at least 10 assists in this year’s playoffs. Remarkably, he never had more than five assists in a postseason outing prior to 2026.
It could also be argued that Towns is in a stretch of playing the best defense we’ve seen from him in his career. He’s become more of a rim protector and hasn’t been taken advantage of in pick-and-roll situations.
Randle is taking the brunt of the blame for Minnesota being down
Oh, Randle. Not exactly the favorite player of many Timberwolves fans at the moment. He has reverted back to the player who performed poorly in the playoffs with the Knicks.
His play has many believing Friday could be his last game in a Timberwolves uniform if Minnesota loses to the San Antonio Spurs and is eliminated. The first round series against the Denver Nuggets wasn’t great, but it’s become much worse against San Antonio. Randle somehow has 18 turnovers and only eight assists. His shooting 36.6 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from 3-point distance. In this year’s playoffs, Randle's 0.85 points per direct touch are the second-least by a player since 2014.
I’m not quite saying the trade made in October of 2024 was a mistake by the Wolves. They also got Donte DiVincenzo, a player they would have certainly helped against San Antonio. Unfortunately, he’s out with a torn Achilles. The first round pick they received has become Joan Beringer. You don’t have to squint your eyes to believe he can potentially be a long-term frontcourt rotational piece.Â
Right now, though, it’s hard to say New York has any regrets of making the deal, while this contrast between star players is at the very least painful for Minnesota. v
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