Timberwolves Trade Julius Randle to Nets For ... Nothing? Here's Why

The Timberwolves have traded Julius Randle and the No. 28 overall pick in Tuesday's NBA draft to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-team deal, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The Wolves will receive the No. 33 pick early in Wednesday's second round. The Chicago Bulls are getting Nic Claxton from Brooklyn in the deal.

Just in: Minnesota is sending Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick in the NBA Draft to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls, sources tell ESPN. The Timberwolves will acquire Brooklyn’s No. 33 pick for Randle and No. 28. pic.twitter.com/TvADMMNDlg
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2026

You're reading that right. The Wolves just traded Randle, one of their starters and highest-paid players, for the right to move back five spots in the draft.

Why would they do that? The primary reason is to get Randle's contract off of their books. He was set to make $33.3 million next season and has a $35.8 million player option in 2027-28. By moving Randle, the Wolves now have significantly more financial flexibility. That should allow Tim Connelly to re-sign guard Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota's most important free agent, as well as make other additions. They'll now have access to the full mid-level exception, as well as a traded player exception.

The other thing this does is open up the Wolves' starting power forward spot for Naz Reid. The 2023-24 NBA sixth man of the year has started only 77 of his 483 career regular season games, and never more than 17 in a single season. Reid, who turns 27 in August, will now enter the season as a starter for the first time, barring something unexpected.

Naz Reid is going to be the starting power forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first time in his career. This move is a big statement of belief in Reid and Jaden McDaniels to take the next steps in their development.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 23, 2026

One of the Wolves' great recent development success stories as a former undrafted free agent, Reid has averaged 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in just under 26 minutes a night over the past three seasons. He's shot 38 percent from three during that span.

Randle came to Minnesota alongside Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick in the trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks a little less than two years ago. Randle, 31, had an up-and-down two-year tenure in Minnesota. At his best, he's a gifted three-level scorer who can play bully ball on the interior and make plays as an offensive hub. He was a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection during his time with New York.

But Randle can also frustrate with his outside shooting and his two-way effort. In 148 regular season games with the Timberwolves, he averaged basically 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists on 48/33/80 shooting splits. He shot 45 percent in 27 playoffs games for Minnesota, including just 39 percent this year. He was great in the first two rounds of the 2025 postseason but struggled against the Thunder and had a very poor series in this year's second round against the Spurs.

The Wolves now have picks 33 and 59 in the second round on Wednesday night. More to come on this massive move from Connelly and Minnesota.

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