It was a bit unclear exactly how Julius Randle would fit in with the ‘Nova Knicks; his old-fashioned, bullying style of play did not suit those boys.
While we might also wonder how exactly he fits next to Rudy Gobert as Antony Edwards looks to drive to the rim, Randle is excited to find out. In his introductory press conference after being traded for Karl-Anthony Towns in a blockbuster deal between contendersRandle called the trade “a breath of fresh air” (quotes via Jamal Collier of ESPN).
‘You want to be somewhere where you feel wanted. I feel wanted here,” Randle said Thursday. “At this point in my career, I have accomplished a lot of great things individually, but I want to win a championship. This is a perfect opportunity to do that…
“It was a relief,” Randle said of the trade. “I’m glad I can bring everything I’ve learned over the last five years here and help these guys. All I have here is I just want to help.”
Randle put as positive a spin on this as he could: his family, and especially his wifeseems happy with the trade – although how long Randle will stay in Minnesota is up for debate, as this deal was more about the money for the Timberwolves.
While Minnesota made this trade for financial reasons — the Timberwolves could save up to $26 million in payroll and luxury taxes this season and much more in the future, depending on Randle’s future contract — there are many people in the front offices in the competition that thinks Minnesota has now also won the deal. Landing Donte DiVincenzo in the trade was a big part of that perception, he brings some much-needed shooting power and depth to Minnesota.
There’s a lot on coach Chris Finch’s plate to make it all fit in Minnesota, but a season ago we said the same thing about how Towns and Gobert would fit, and Finch found that Minnesota won 56 games. and reached the Western Conference finals. Randle is excited to see if he can help them take another step this season, and his positive attitude is a great place to start.
