Wolves reporters adamant Julius Randle won't be traded as a salary dump
![Jan 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) shoots a three point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter at Target Center. Jan 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) shoots a three point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter at Target Center.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4943,h_2780,x_0,y_64/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_timberwolves/01jjseknrz60cng6trh8.jpg)
The discussion around Julius Randle and his future remains a fascinating one with the NBA's Feb. 6 trade deadline just over a week away.
The majority of Minnesota Timberwolves fans want to see Randle moved before the deadline. That's extremely apparent on social media. They've been frustrated with his ball-stopping tendencies, his poor outside shooting, his defensive lapses, and his general body language since he came over in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. They want Randle gone so Naz Reid can join the starting lineup now, and so Randle's $31 million player option next season isn't a potential roadblock that prevents Reid from remaining in Minnesota for years to come.
The fan base would seemingly be happy dumping Randle's salary and getting just about any cheap or expiring contracts back. Meanwhile, people who cover the Wolves are pretty adamant about that not being realistic. Plugged-in reporters like Jon Krawczynski and Dane Moore have been pushing back against the idea of salary-dumping Randle for minimal return, citing his importance to this roster and the team's belief in him.
"The Wolves fans who want Julius Randle traded for anything and would view it as addition by subtraction, I think are misguided," Krawczynski said on the latest episode of his podcast. "I also don't think the Timberwolves are going to go into this trade deadline looking to salary dump Julius Randle. They believe that he is helping them on the court. They believe that they need a player like him if they are going to stay in this playoff race down the stretch. I'm not saying they're definitely not going to trade him. But the only scenario I see where they do move him, is if they can get a piece or pieces that make them what they think to be better both this year and then going forward.
"And that's a hard needle to thread because I honestly don't think there's a huge market out there for Julius Randle right now. If they wanted to just dump him to Washington or to another team with cap space and give them that first round pick from Detroit Pistons to do it, that would be a poor decision and a poor use of resources. So for those of you out there that are hoping and praying that Julius Randle gets traded and then Naz Reid goes into the starting lineup, I think it's very unlikely that that happens. ... I think they largely believe that their pathway toward improvement is internally with this squad right now."
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Moore has emphasized similar sentiments recently. One thing he brought up is that even if Randle doesn't get traded before the deadline, he could still be moved next offseason if he decides to opt into his player option. In other words, Randle being on the team past the deadline does not mean pending free agents Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker can't be part of the team's future.
"I don't like the idea of just a shedding salary deal," he said on Kevin O'Connor's podcast. "If, for no other reason than, sure Julius opts in or you have him on draft night when you have more options to trade, there's more cap space made available, the market is cleaner to the Wolves. That makes more sense to me. ... If you're going to give up Julius, I want to get something back. Trading him for expirings is trading him for expirings. It's underwhelming, even if I get the thought process behind it."
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Randle is averaging roughly 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game this season, shooting 47 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep. His +3.6 net rating is tied for the second-best mark on the team among rotation players. As the season has gone along, it's seemed like he's adjusted to doing more of the things the Wolves have asked from him. Instead of being a lead scoring option, they need him to rebound and facilitate and play defense in addition to picking his spots to attack.
"Randle has gotten progressively more effective in Finch's system and in the context of this lineup," Moore said.
So if the Wolves, who are 25-21 heading into Wednesday night's game against the Suns, believe they can make noise in the postseason with Randle, they're only going to move him for the right return. Maybe that could happen if they get involved in a multi-team Jimmy Butler deal (not as the team landing Butler, of course). But because of the difficulties of making trades as a second-apron team and the likelihood that they aren't going to move him just to move him, it continues to look like Randle will be on the Wolves' roster for the remainder of this season.