The Minnesota Timberwolves traded a homegrown four-time All-Star in Karl-Anthony Towns only to watch Julius Randle, the star player they got in return, lead to their demise in the conference finals. KAT is a unique talent, but Minnesota made the conference finals with him in 2024. They won fewer games and never felt close in their five-game loss to the Thunder this year. It was in large part because of Randle's struggles.
Anthony Edwards is an unquestioned superstar. He has some flaws in his game but the Wolves have reached the final four twice before his 24th birthday. Minnesota only made the conference finals once before 2024 and that was the only year they won a playoff round. Ant-Man is clearly special, but he needs more help to take the Timberwolves to new heights.
Randle played well in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but it turned into the nightmare many expected in the conference finals. Wolves fans were left missing KAT, especially as he helped the Knicks reach the conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
Timberwolves regret trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle
Randle averaged 17.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 0.8 steals in the conference finals. Those numbers don’t appear bad until diving deeper. He committed 3.6 turnovers per game, and the Wolves were outscored by 62 points in their four losses with Randle on the floor. He had a positive plus-minus in their lone win but was problematic in every other game.
Randle scored 24 or more points in three of the five games, but two were blowout losses. In the others, he scored six and five. The Wolves cannot win against the best teams in the world when their number two option goes missing for half the series.
The Knicks are down 3-1 in their conference finals series, but Towns is averaging 25.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 45.5 percent on his 3-point tries. Oklahoma City has the best defense in the NBA, but Minnesota would have certainly preferred KAT’s production.
The Wolves also saw the worst of Randle in this series. There were moments were he lacked aggressiveness and engagement. He was not always putting pressure on the defense and struggled to make the right play when the Thunder swarmed him.
Minnesota needs a star upgrade if they are going to be serious title contenders. Julius Randle is a fine number-two option for a team happy to make the playoffs and win one round. The Timberwolves are chasing the franchise’s first championship, and they won’t win it with Randle as Ant-Man’s co-star.
The Minnesota Timberwolves miss Karl-Anthony Towns and wish they never made this trade. Julius Randle was not the answer, but the franchise may be stuck giving him a long-term contract to stay near the top of the conference. The regret keeps getting worse and could turn into a full-blown nightmare this offseason. KAT has his flaws, but the Wolves felt like a legitimate threat with him. That is not the case now and never will be Randle.