Julius Randle will be traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason. At least that’s what most of the Wolves fan base thinks. A terrible series against the San Antonio Spurs has fans believing that the team would be better off in finding a fair deal for him.
To expect an All-Star player back in return for Randle might be wishful thinking. That doesn’t mean they can’t find a deal that can help their team for next season. In 2023, the Timberwolves traded D’Angelo Russell for two players who made a huge impact for the club in Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
That's a blueprint that the Wolves should follow in a Randle deal.
Getting multiple rotation players would be beneficial
Currently, the 30-year-old Russell is mostly seen in a negative light, and it wouldn’t even be surprising if he’s not in the league next season.
He was still a very productive player with Minnesota, though, before being traded. Russell was averaging 17.9 points on nearly 40 percent 3-point shooting and 6.2 assists in 2022-23 before he was shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers. The three-team deal brought the Timberwolves Conley and Alexander-Walker from the Utah Jazz.
While not quite the player he was in his younger years, Conley was the full-time starting point guard for two seasons and a steadying floor leader who knocks down treys and rarely turns the ball over, even as he transitioned to a reserve role this season. Alexander-Walker was a superb bench piece for two years and became a 20-point-per-game scorer after leaving Minnesota. In hindsight, the team probably wishes it had re-signed him rather than Randle.
Usually, the team that acquires the best player in a deal is considered the winner. That certainly isn’t always the case, though, and at the time, Russell was seen as a better player than the two guys Minnesota received in return.
Keep in mind for next season that Donte DiVincenzo will be out for most, if not all, of the year with a torn Achilles. He started all 82 games for the Wolves this season, so they are already missing an important player. Therefore, finding a trade that earns Minnesota more than one player who can play important minutes would be huge for them.
With the way Randle performed in the postseason this year, it’s hard to envision the Timberwolves getting a player seen in a higher standard than him. Still, finding a way to get two players who can become rotational pieces would be huge, particularly since they can insert Naz Reid into the starting lineup in place of Randle.
Add us as a preferred source on Google