The Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick to the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 33 pick in the draft. Nic Claxton is also headed to the Chicago Bulls in the deal, while the Wolves add Mouhamadou Gueye. I know just about every fan wanted to trade Randle, but this return is underwhelming to put it kindly.
Naturally, getting off the team's second option for the past two years (despite Randle's clear flaws and the fact that fans wanted him to be moved) and such a limited return has made fans upset, with some already pointing this out as a disaster.
The question should really be: what's next for the Timberwolves.
The bright side of getting nothing back for Randle is that the Wolves now have a $33 million trade exception and are $28 million below the first apron (after subsequently re-signing Ayo Dosunmu), meaning a bigger move is more financially plausible.
And with the team on the brink of title contention, it's hard to see this trade not leading to something bigger.
The Timberwolves are set up for a bigger move after Julius Randle trade
I think it's likely that they pursue a guard or maybe even a shot-creating wing with Rudy Gobert as the trade target.
The financial flexibility could give the Wolves some nice options when shopping Rudy, as before they'd have to be focused on matching salaries in addition to finding a star upgrade.
Looking at realistic trade options, it's hard to find a player who makes more money than Rudy and could be acquired in a swap. Nevertheless, surprises can always happen. Perhaps more realistically, the Wolves could take on an extra player if and when they trade Gobert.
The $33 million trade exception also offers an avenue to pursue a big deal.
Regardless of what happens, it's clear that the Wolves can't sit around and wait. Anthony Edwards is a top-five level player in the league and while the title window will be open for a while, given that he will turn 25 this summer, you need to do what it takes to maximize your window with Ant-Man. Trading Randle simply for cap flexibility won't cut it. Other moves need to happen.
The Wolves could have hypothetically had Claxton, who would be a perfect replacement option for Gobert. Tim Connelly appears to be planning a bigger move after moving off Randle and his track record shows that a move will happen.
What move that is remains unclear, at this juncture, but fans can rest assured that Connelly will make a bigger move after freeing up this much cap space.
In the nightmare scenario where this doesn't lead to a bigger move, then sure, we can have conversations about this being an awful trade.
