The Minnesota Timberwolves have officially moved on from Julius Randle. As part of a three-team trade, Randle is being sent to the Brooklyn Nets.
Apart from Randle, the Nets are also receiving the Wolves’ No. 28 pick, which turned into Joshua Jefferson. The deal also sent center Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls. The Timberwolves will receive the Nets’ No. 33 pick and Mo Gueye from the Bulls.
What This Means
Timberwolves:
For the Timberwolves, moving off of Randle creates a lot of financial flexibility. They will now have a $15.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception and a $5.5 million biannual exception. On top of that, the trade also created a $33.3 million trade exception.
Beyond the cap implications, it also allows them to move on from a player who struggled to show up when it mattered most. Since arriving in Minnesota in 2024, Randle has been inconsistent in the playoffs. He struggled against Oklahoma City in 2025 and again against San Antonio this past season.
Nets:
Randle will be going back to New York and will be on his fifth team. Despite his inconsistencies in the playoffs, he is one of 10 players to average 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and appear in 79 games. During his time in Minnesota, he averaged 20 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 48.2% shooting and only missed 16 games
When he steps through the door in Brooklyn, he will be able to provide a good veteran presence for a team that is full of young talent. He will be able to bring a winning level the Nets haven’t seen in recent years, after they finished 20-62 and Randle played in back-to-back conference finals.
Bulls:
The Bulls are adding to their young core with Claxton. The 6-foot-11, 215-pound big man averaged 11.7 points on 57.1% shooting and 6.9 rebounds this past season. He also set career highs in touches and assists and was the first Nets player with at least 250 assists and 75 blocks in a season since Derrick Coleman in 1993-94.
Now they don’t have to worry much about filling up their big man position during the rest of free agency and can focus on creating chemistry with the team that they currently have in the building.
Grades
Timberwolves: C
There are a lot of caveats to the Timberwolves grade. The first is that it remains to be seen what Ayo Dosunmu will look like next season because the Timberwolves essentially traded Randle to extend him.
The second is what the Timberwolves decided to do with the rest of the money that this move freed up for them. They have a $33.3 million traded player exception, and if they use it on a solid, productive asset, then their grade will go up.
Nevertheless, they are moving on from a player who struggled when the lights were the brightest in the playoffs. Against the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs this season, he averaged 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds on 34.2/19/73.1 shooting splits. He also struggled in the conference finals last year.
Nets: B
The acquisition of Randle is going to immediatley make the Nets a more competitive team than they have been in the past couple of seasons. This will benefit them greatly, especially considering the new anti-tanking rules that favor the middle-of-the-pack teams.
Even if things don’t work out, Randle is a useful player who can be packaged in a deal to bring in a bigger name. That can either happen when he becomes a free agent in 2027 or when he picks up his player option.
Bulls: B
The Bulls can simply absorb Claxton’s contract into their cap space and provide the big man a more positive environment than the one he had grown accustomed to in Brooklyn. He can benefit from playing next to a playmaker like Josh Giddey, who will be able to throw him lobs.
He will be surrounded by other young players like Matas Buzelis, their two first-round picks from this year’s draft, Dailyn Swain and Caleb Wilson, and Patrick Williams.
It’ll be interesting to see how this trade impacts all three teams. Neither of them came away worse of so there is a lot of potential for them to have an impact in their respective conferences.
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