Timberwolves insider on possible Julius Randle trade: 'I do think it's unlikely'

Longtime beat reporter believes Minnesota will look internally for improvements.

Jan 15, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) dribbles the ball against the Golden State Warriors at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

When it comes to inside information about the Minnesota Timberwolves, there's no one more reliable than longtime beat reporter Jon Krawczynski — and he doesn't think a Julius Randle trade is on the minds of Minnesota's decision-makers.

"Right now, as I look at it, I do think it's unlikely. Obviously things can change a great deal in the next three and a half weeks leading into the Feb. 6 trade deadline," Krawczynski said Thursday his podcast, The Jon Krawczynski Show.

Randle is averaging 19.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game, but his long-term future is a big unknown. He has a $31 million player option after the season that could keep him in Minnesota for the 2025-26 season, but if he declines the option he would become a free agent and the Timberwolves could lose him for nothing.

"Chris Finch really thinks highly of Julius Randle and thinks that he can help this team win at a high level. He thinks that this group is closer to turning the corner than a lot of people do," Krawczynski explained. "You hear him in press conferences, every chance that he gets, he is really kind of hyping up Julius Randle. And I do not think that is because he's trying to improve his trade value. I think Chris Finch looks at Julius Randle, looks [at] what he brings to the table and says this is a guy we can win with and that is doing a lot of things that can help us."

When the Wolves acquired Randle and DiVincenzo for Karl-Anthony Towns before the season, the hope was that Randle's versatile skill set would add a new dimension to the offense. While there have been flashes of high-end play, it's been anything but smooth sailing.

Even when the Timberwolves look like they're figuring it out with seven wins in 10 games, they revealed themselves as an unserious basketball team when they trailed the Warriors 34-12 after one quarter Wednesday night and wound up losing 116-115. It was the latest speed bump in a season full of inconsistencies.

Trading Randle is also very difficult due to the prohibitive status of being a team over the second apron of the NBA's luxury tax. Minnesota can't take back a penny more than they send out and they can't combine players in a trade, so it's Randle and his contract for whatever might make sense in return — and there's just not a lot of options out there.

"I think they want to stick with that and keep sort of exploring what else can be done to make this [Anthony Edwards] and Julius pairing, this Julius and [Rudy Gobert] pairing work and work at a high level," Krawczynski said.

"There are things that the Wolves are going to continue to look at, but I don't think, as of right now, a Julius Randle trade is a likelihood or high on their list of priorities as they look at what to do to improve this team going forward. I think most of the improvement is going to be focused on internal improvement."

Life moves fast in the NBA and if the Timberwolves struggle in the remaining eight games this month — and it's a very difficult eight games — perhaps the narrative about Randle inside the Timberwolves front office will change.