Many months have passed since the Minnesota Timberwolves fatefully decided to trade Karl-Anthony Towns, the face of the franchise since 2015, to cut costs. Towns’ supermax contract was set to kick in, and with Anthony Edwards having usurped him in the importance pecking order, the Timberwolves decided that it was best to let go of their longtime star in a trade that brought back Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
It’s safe to say that this trade has not worked out as planned for the Timberwolves. For a team that made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, having a 35-29 record at present is a far cry from the level they were at last season when they finished with a 56-26 record that was nearly good enough for the best win-loss tally in the conference.
It may be an exaggeration to say that the Timberwolves’ championship window has been slammed shut, but their long-term outlook with Randle on the roster instead of Towns looks much worse, especially with Rudy Gobert not being at his best unlike last season.
The Timberwolves, unless they make a drastic change, appear to be wedded to their core; they still remain above the second luxury tax apron, which means that they cannot aggregate two or more players in a single trade. Moreover, they have to match salaries right down to the dollar or take less money in a deal, making improving the roster a near-impossible task without making major sacrifices.
With the Timberwolves stuck in the neutral, it’s hard to rag them for their inactivity during the trade deadline. But perhaps they could have explored something on this front.
Timberwolves should have explored Julius Randle trade
When the Timberwolves acquired Julius Randle as the centerpiece in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, many questioned how the frontcourt fit between him and Rudy Gobert would look like. Randle can shoot the three-ball, but he is much less of a threat from the perimeter than Towns is. Towns’ gravity opened up so much space for Anthony Edwards to work with and freed up quite a lot of real estate for Gobert to operate on the interior.
Randle was supposed to make up for it with the additional ballhandling and playmaking he provided. But he isn’t as involved in the Timberwolves’ offense as he was with the Knicks, and what the former All-Star forward lacked in efficiency, he made up for in volume and ability to keep others fresh by soaking up a heavy offensive workload.
The 30-year-old forward should be up for a new contract soon; it is expected that Randle will be opting out of his $30.9 million player option for next season in search of a new long-term deal. He’s dealt with a few injuries here and there over the past few seasons, so securing the bag will be a priority for him.
It will be devastating for the Timberwolves if Randle decides to walk. Even if he does, they will still most likely be a tax-paying team, as Naz Reid will be due a huge new contract as well. It will do the Timberwolves wonders if they manage to use Randle’s contract in a trade, which is why not pursuing a trade centered on the 30-year-old forward could end up being a mistake for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves don’t exactly have the draft assets to swing a major trade built around Randle’s contract. But perhaps a deal could have been made in the vein of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma swap, acquiring a better-fitting player even if the optics aren’t optimal.
Perhaps the Timberwolves could have traded Randle for someone like John Collins, allowing them to remain huge in the frontcourt while giving Gobert a frontcourt partner shooting above 40 percent from three on the season (Randle, for reference, is shooting 31.9 percent from deep). Or perhaps someone like Cam Johnson have sufficed, freeing up more minutes for Reid if the Timberwolves prefer to go small while acquiring one of the best marksmen in the association?
Minnesota to make Anthony Edwards-Kevin Durant team-up possible?
Maybe the Timberwolves are simply gearing up for a huge offseason push for someone like Kevin Durant, who could be on the outs with the Phoenix Suns if they fail to make the playoffs this year.
However, if the Suns were to trade Durant away, they will be focusing on getting back a plethora of draft capital in return. That is a condition the Timberwolves cannot satisfy. Still out a ton of first-rounders due to the fateful Rudy Gobert trade of 2022, the best Minnesota can do is dangle a 2025 Detroit Pistons first-round pick that will most likely be a pick around 15-20, as well as a pick swap in 2028.
Nonetheless, in case Randle opts into his contract for next year, and the Timberwolves can somehow find their way below the second tax apron, they could package the former All-Star forward, Jaden McDaniels, and Rob Dillingham, along whatever draft capital they have left, to try and entice the Suns. But this may all be wishful thinking done in the service of imagining how fun the duo of Durant and Anthony Edwards would be.
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