One of the most fascinating storylines in the NBA this season has been the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves made a big preseason trade, moving former number one overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. However, through nearly 40 games, the Wolves have clearly been worse off for having made the deal.
They currently find themselves 11th in the Western Conference and have lost three straight games. Compare that to last season when they finished third in the west and made the Western Conference Finals, and it has been a stark change for the Wolves.
With their struggles this season, one player has taken the brunt of the blame. Randle's play has drawn significant criticism from Timberwolves fans, with many focusing on his awful defense, questionable shot selection, and turnovers.
Julius Randle is being absolutely hammered my T-Wolves fans/media. He’s become the convenient scapegoat cause putting the proper amount of blame on Anthony Edwards makes them uncomfortable.
— DJ (@DJAceNBA) December 22, 2024
Knicks Twitter seems very excited to join in on the anti-Randle bashing as if we didn’t…
The stuff that's happening with Julius Randle in Minnesota, anyone who actually watches him play closely could have predicted this.
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) December 24, 2024
To be clear, he has struggled with all three this season, and the Timberwolves have been worse for it, but should he really be the team's scapegoat?
The Minnesota Timberwolves may have a Julius Randle problem.
Getting Randle back in return for Towns was seen as a stopgap move, with Towns having a massive contract but Randle being on a one-year deal and having similar or even comparable stats to Towns. Given how Towns has played with the Knicks, it's clear that Towns has had a much bigger impact than Randle has on his respective team.
Towns' shooting adds another dimension to their offense, as well as his passing, while Randall has arguably hurt the Wolves, not only on offense but defense too. In a recent game against the Golden State Warriors, his defense drew significant criticism due to his frequent failure to rotate over, giving up easy drives, and forcing his teammates to try and cover for him.
Me reading all the TWolves fans turn on Julius Randle pic.twitter.com/bYAqxi6dl5
— Blames (@blames_) December 22, 2024
Julius Randle is the worst basketball player I’ve ever watched. Genuinely
— 🇦🇺 | 🐺 (@HoodieNaz_) December 24, 2024
Ironically, the Wolves defense is technically better than it was last season, on a per possession basis, although the Wolves' have dropped from first to fifth. Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that their offensive rating has dropped from 16th to 22nd.
Being an elite defense and a middling offense was enough to win games during the regular season last year and claw their way to the West Finals. However, a worse defense and a bottom-10 offense obviously haven't had a similar impact.
Randle being blamed for their struggles is fair, but they may be stuck with him, perhaps for this season before potentially letting him leave in free agency and replacing him permanently with Naz Reid. In the meantime, the Wolves still have time to turn things around, but that starts with Randle.