If you have spent any amount of time on social media as a fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves this season, you have seen endless suggestions that the team trade away Julius Randle. It has been unquestionably the most popular suggested roster move that people think will benefit this team.
The idea of finding a better fit for this squad is logical. Getting Randle acclimated has been far from a seamless process, and it is obvious that he does not raise the Timberwolves' ceiling in the exact same way Karl-Anthony Towns did. As such, it has been the mindset of many within the fanbase that the team should simply get Julius off the books, and do whatever is necessary to do that.
Of course, part of the thinking behind that mindset is the long-term roster implications as well. If Minnesota ends up re-signing Randle, it would likely mean they end up losing one of Naz Reid or Nickeil Alexander-Walker. So the desperation from fans makes sense given the strong desire to keep those two beloved guys.
However, this idea of getting rid of Randle at all costs at the deadline is simply not the correct tactic the Wolves need to take. First of all, there is still draft night and the offseason, when it is much more likely Minnesota could look to make a trade involving Randle. But secondly, many are ignoring all the ways in which Julius is actually benefitting this team at the moment.
Randle largely isn't the problem with this team
Timberwolves insider Jon Krawczynski talked about this on the most recent episode of his podcast. "The Wolves fans who want Julius Randle traded for anything and would view it as addition by subtraction, I think are misguided," he said. "I also don't think the Timberwolves are going to go into this trade deadline looking to salary dump Julius Randle. They believe that he is helping them on the court. They believe that they need a player like him if they are going to stay in this playoff race down the stretch. "
There is a lot of truth to these words. The Western Conference remains an absolute gauntlet. If you're Minnesota, are you willing to completely sacrifice the rest of this season just to dump Randle? Because that is likely what you'd be doing if you're trying to simply salary dump him for players on expiring deals. There are not a lot of obvious moves the Wolves can make in moving Randle that would benefit this team in the short-term. On top of that, you would have essentially traded KAT for expiring contracts in the process, which is not a great look.
Additionally, Randle's on-court performance has been far from dismal lately. As Dane Moore pointed out, the Timberwolves have figured some things out with Julius as the season has gone along that have made him very useful. For example, running five-out style lineups where Gobert is off the floor and Donte DiVincenzo and Alexander-Walker space the floor led to plenty of game situations where Randle was the driving force behind the offense, even with Anthony Edwards on the floor as well.
The bottom line here being that Julius has not been the train wreck some have made him out to be. The Timberwolves can absolutely find a better fit for this roster than him further down the line, but the best choice is to ride it out for now and cross that bridge when we get to draft night. Randle is not Minnesota's biggest concern, and making a rushed move to trade him in the next nine days would only exacerbate their problems.