A pre-season trade changed the shape of last season’s Western Conference Finalists.
Even though Anthony Edwards insists ‘both teams won’ the trade sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks, not many people would agree.
The Minnesota Timberwolves decision has even been branded one of the worst trades ever, with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo acquired in return.
Both players are out injured at present, with Kendrick Perkins claiming the Timberwolves already know they ‘dropped the ball’ with the decision.
Julius Randle has been heavily criticized since he joined the Timberwolves, and Bill Simmons is the latest to call out the poor fit on the team.
Speaking on his podcast, Simmons voiced his belief the Timberwolves are a better team when Randle does not play.
He explained: “I just think they’re unquestionably better when he’s not out there for them.
“I don’t know, I’ve been watching basketball my whole life. It’s just he screws up the spacing.
“He might be a good player on other teams. For that team, he does not make sense to me.”
Randle’s numbers have dropped significantly this season. He averaged 24.9 minutes on the New York Knicks, and only 18.9 on the Timberwolves.
Former NBA star Chandler Parsons recently called out the poor fit for Randle in Minnesota, who have remained inconsistent since he suffered an injury against the Jazz on January 30.
They had won five games in a row before his injury. Six if you include the game vs the Jazz in which he suffered an injury, when he played just 10 minutes.
Over the past nine games without Randle, Minnesota have gone 4-5 in the win-loss column. They are 31-27 for the season.
So the numbers do not quite support the claim the Timberwolves are better without him in terms of results – even though they were certainly better off pre-trade.
Julius Randle does have a player option this summer, where he could enter free agency and start afresh.
This might make more sense for all parties, rather than Minnesota paying to keep him. But there is still time to change the narrative.
It is possible Randle could be cleared to return later in the week to face former team the Lakers, per Rotowire.
