Julius Randle landed himself in hot water with the Minnesota Timberwolves coaching staff. While playing against the Chicago Bulls, Randle completely switched off on transition defense and did not try to contest a layup by Patrick Williams Jr., who easily drove to the basket. Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni could be seen reprimanding Randle during the following timeout.
Julius Randle gives NO effort on D and gets chewed out by his coach 😭 pic.twitter.com/Znifl25ljr
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) November 8, 2024
Randle ended the game with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while shooting 8-15 from the field, 1-4 from deep, and 5-5 from the stripe.
While it was a decent performance offensively, Randle barely contributed on the defensive end for the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves were still able to win the game 135-119 in the end, but Randle’s defensive lethargy will be questioned going forward.
Julius Randle’s weakness or even willingness to come back on defense is well known. Timberwolves fans have gotten to see it on numerous occasions. In one of his first few games for the Timberwolves, Randle could be seen slowly meandering up the court while his team was trying to defend a possession.
Furthermore, Rui Hachimura of the Lakers said that he and the whole team targeted Julius Randle on defense on the NBA’s opening night. Randle is notorious for not showing the right kind of effort or intensity on the defensive end of the court, and some believe that played a big role in him getting traded out of the Knicks.
Randle, who was playing under head coach Tom Thibodeau, is not someone who hustles hard on the defensive end. And for a coach like Thibodeau, who demands intensity on both ends of the court, that would have been unacceptable. While Randle and Thibodeau did thrive under the Knicks banner, their relationship together was always going to be short-lived.
Randle has a defensive rating of 119.1 this season, ranking him at 380th out of 447 players in the NBA. This is a massive problem for the Timberwolves, who were the best defensive team in the NBA last season with a defensive rating of 110.6. With Randle now on the team, the Timberwolves are now 15th in the NBA in defensive rating with a score of 112.8.
Should The Timberwolves Trade Julius Randle?
The big question since the Timberwolves pulled the trigger on the trade for Julius Randle still remains; should the Timberwolves trade Julius Randle to another team? Randle is currently on an expiring deal, and the franchise could risk losing him for nothing in free agency next year.
Despite his defensive shortcomings, Randle has played well for the Timberwolves, averaging 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.0 blocks per game, while shooting 56.9% from the field, 43.8% from beyond the arc, and 79.1% from the free-throw line.
Randle is currently making upwards of $30 million, and as mentioned before, is an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Timberwolves are probably going to try and evaluate Randle’s fit with the rest of the team before making a decision near the trade deadline in February.
The roster seems to have accepted Randle, as Anthony Edwards told him that the rest of the team will work to fit with him rather than the other way around. A trade for Randle could be useful, but if he clicks with the rest of the squad, then they might want to keep him and hope they can convince him to sign with them in free agency.
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