Let's rewind to this past Saturday for a minute. As the Minnesota Timberwolves' home contest against the Memphis Grizzlies came to a close, the Wolves found themselves in a tie contest with less than a minute to go. After a Ja Morant layup with 54 seconds left, Minnesota needed a score to put some distance between them and the visitors.
Julius Randle brought the ball down the floor. Matched up with former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., Randle found himself in an iso situation and opted to attack the matchup, driving to the bucket. It was not long after making that decision that he wound up turning the ball over, which ultimately led to Morant's game-sealing layup at the other end.
This was an absurdly frustrating ending for fans, and the turnover followed by the Memphis score served to siphon all the energy out of Target Center. But what it did more than lead to a disappointing ending was highlight a bigger problem Minnesota is currently dealing with.
The Timberwolves have been having a terrible time executing on offense in clutch time this season, and Saturday was simply the latest example. Per the NBA's advanced stats, Minnesota has played in the fifth-most clutch time minutes this season with 87.0. But in those minutes, their production has been simply dreadful.
Randle does not help the Timberwolves' abhorrent clutch time stats
In clutch time this season, the Wolves have registered a 95.9 offensive rating - the second worst in the association, and behind only the league-worst record-holding Washington Wizards. It does not get any better from there. Many of the major offensive stat categories in clutch time show a severe lack of execution on Minnesota's end.
When it comes to clutch time net rating, only the Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets rank lower than the Timberwolves. Minnesota's assist percentage is second-worst in the league under these circumstances, their assist-to-turnover ratio is second-worst, their turnover percentage is fifth-worst, their effective field goal percentage is third-worst and their true shooting is second-worst. Not to beat a dead horse, but this is a clear indicator of just how much this particular issue is dragging this team down.
We have seen Chris Finch talk about how ball-holding is ultimately the root of the issue that leads to the Wolves' poor spacing and offensive execution at times. Julius Randle has certainly been a key culprit of this, and it has led to his 41% shooting percentage in clutch situations. This makes it all the more evident that this problem is unlikely to resolve itself while he remains on the roster.
These numbers are even more evidence that Minnesota's best move at the deadline is to try to find Julius Randle a new home. We have nearly three full months of data to work with now, and that combined with the eye test tells us that Randle would be better suited elsewhere.