The Julius Randle Thread

[Klomp]

Go back to what we said initially: We know who we are now and what we need to be and how we need to play coming into this season. Julius showed that he could do that and so that needs to be the baseline, for him and for everyone.

Above and beyond that, Julius has a high “care” factor. He really does. I think he is one of the most misunderstood players in the league. As a person, for sure, he cares and is emotional. At times he wears it on his sleeve a little too much and at times it affects his next-play ability. But he has reached a point — when you talk to him, or he has become very proactive at coming to talk to you about what the team needs and wants from him. He is ahead of the curve on that a lot of the time.

I think he is in a place where he is embraced, protected and valued. All that stuff. Whether it is from Tim (Connelly), ET (defensive coach Elston Turner), or myself, or Anthony. All these people that are around him. Letting him know that it is okay to make mistakes. It’s not New York; you’re not going to be criticized for everything.

We love him and we want him here. And we have proved that to him. As a result, he was willing to do whatever we needed him to do. Now maybe — all these paths are not always easy. But we got there.

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2025/09/qa-timberwolves-chris-finch-on-the-joys-and-challenges-of-coaching-anthony-edwards/

[WolfAddict]

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I could watch lobs to Rudy like that all damn day... ALL. DAMN. DAY.

[Klomp]

Randle came to New York when the Knicks were in the throes of one of the worst stretches in franchise history. He poured everything into helping pull the team out of the gutter. And now he felt left behind.

The isolation and the narrative took him to a dark place. He self-medicated with marijuana (the league stopped testing players for marijuana use in 2023). He withdrew from those around him. Depression, anger and anxiety started to suffocate him.

“At the end of that time, I was kind of at my darkest moment,” he said. “Just miserable, like in a way where I just was not having fun going to work every single day.”

There were strains both at work and at home. He would return to the apartment from rehabbing his shoulder and retreat to a private room away from his family, wallowing in his own misery.

“I would just be in there watching TV in a dark room,” he said. “I didn’t even want to show my face. I kind of just wanted to be left alone and, like, in hiding. Just very frustrated and angry and all those different emotions. It just wasn’t a good place to be in.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6642037/2025/09/26/julius-randle-timberwolves-knicks-trade/

[KGdaBom]

Go back to what we said initially: We know who we are now and what we need to be and how we need to play coming into this season. Julius showed that he could do that and so that needs to be the baseline, for him and for everyone.

Above and beyond that, Julius has a high “care” factor. He really does. I think he is one of the most misunderstood players in the league. As a person, for sure, he cares and is emotional. At times he wears it on his sleeve a little too much and at times it affects his next-play ability. But he has reached a point — when you talk to him, or he has become very proactive at coming to talk to you about what the team needs and wants from him. He is ahead of the curve on that a lot of the time.

I think he is in a place where he is embraced, protected and valued. All that stuff. Whether it is from Tim (Connelly), ET (defensive coach Elston Turner), or myself, or Anthony. All these people that are around him. Letting him know that it is okay to make mistakes. It’s not New York; you’re not going to be criticized for everything.

We love him and we want him here. And we have proved that to him. As a result, he was willing to do whatever we needed him to do. Now maybe — all these paths are not always easy. But we got there.

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2025/09/qa-timberwolves-chris-finch-on-the-joys-and-challenges-of-coaching-anthony-edwards/

He is so good.

[Klomp]

Watch on YouTube

[Klomp]

I think as long as Julius keeps playmaking a priority, he still has room to increase his offensive production. I don't think he has to stifle himself down to under 15 FGAs per game. He can still play the same role and yet get 15-18 FGAs.

I really feel like this is a lever the team can push to help get Ant some help and take some pressure off of him.

Heck, if you want to point to the playoffs, they went 2-5 when he had under 15 FGAs and 7-1 when he had 15 or more FGAs.

[Klomp]

Watch on YouTube

[younggunsmn]

Randle came to New York when the Knicks were in the throes of one of the worst stretches in franchise history. He poured everything into helping pull the team out of the gutter. And now he felt left behind.

The isolation and the narrative took him to a dark place. He self-medicated with marijuana (the league stopped testing players for marijuana use in 2023). He withdrew from those around him. Depression, anger and anxiety started to suffocate him.

“At the end of that time, I was kind of at my darkest moment,” he said. “Just miserable, like in a way where I just was not having fun going to work every single day.”

There were strains both at work and at home. He would return to the apartment from rehabbing his shoulder and retreat to a private room away from his family, wallowing in his own misery.

“I would just be in there watching TV in a dark room,” he said. “I didn’t even want to show my face. I kind of just wanted to be left alone and, like, in hiding. Just very frustrated and angry and all those different emotions. It just wasn’t a good place to be in.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6642037/2025/09/26/julius-randle-timberwolves-knicks-trade/

I think it was undersold a lot just how bad things had gotten for Julius in NYK before the trade.
Sounds like both sides were rapidly headed toward divorce.

Have to applaud the Wolves for going out of their way to make it work here and to make Julius feel comfortable and invested.
We gave up a helluva talented big man in KAT, the likes of which we might not see around here for another 20 years, but the front office and coaching staff deserve credit for doing everything they could to make things work after they had pulled the trigger.

For me the big thing with Julius this year will be cutting back on the turnovers and inefficient plays and honing in on the stuff he does really well, and being able to notice and adjust when matchups are bad for him to do certain things or when teams are scheming to do certain things to him, like in the OKC series last year.

Also a big thing will be becoming a better defensive rebounder and getting out in transition more where he can be one of the best in the league.
I think a big part of that will be getting a lot more consistent on defensive rotations, which if he gets there early should consistently put him in better defensive rebounding position.

[Klomp]

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How many charges would KAT have?

Seriously though, I think we need to have a talk about Julius. He is making less money this season than Jerami Grant and Khris Middleton. I get that he's not the fan-favorite we drafted at No. 1 overall. I get that he represents trading away a favorite player for many. But he is having an incredible start to the season and is on arguably one of the best contracts in the league!

[KGdaBom]

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How many charges would KAT have?

Seriously though, I think we need to have a talk about Julius. He is making less money this season than Jerami Grant and Khris Middleton. I get that he's not the fan-favorite we drafted at No. 1 overall. I get that he represents trading away a favorite player for many. But he is having an incredible start to the season and is on arguably one of the best contracts in the league!

Obviously we need to trade him. . Go Randle and Go Wolves.

[Klomp]

Seriously though, I think we need to have a talk about Julius. He is making less money this season than Jerami Grant and Khris Middleton. I get that he's not the fan-favorite we drafted at No. 1 overall. I get that he represents trading away a favorite player for many. But he is having an incredible start to the season and is on arguably one of the best contracts in the league!

Obviously we need to trade him. . Go Randle and Go Wolves.

It's easy to get sucked into the vortex of realizing he's one of the cleanest paths to a major upgrade to the roster. I've been guilty of it plenty myself.

[KGdaBom]

Seriously though, I think we need to have a talk about Julius. He is making less money this season than Jerami Grant and Khris Middleton. I get that he's not the fan-favorite we drafted at No. 1 overall. I get that he represents trading away a favorite player for many. But he is having an incredible start to the season and is on arguably one of the best contracts in the league!

Obviously we need to trade him. . Go Randle and Go Wolves.

It's easy to get sucked into the vortex of realizing he's one of the cleanest paths to a major upgrade to the roster. I've been guilty of it plenty myself.

I don't see how trading him can get us a major upgrade to the roster as any trade of Randle involves Randle no longer being on the roster.

[Klomp]

I don't think people talk enough about Julius Randle when it comes to the team's "point guard" situation.

Yes, I am well aware that Julius Randle is not a traditional point guard. But through the team's first 7 games (which includes a usage bump with Ant out), Julius is averaging 5.9 assists to 2.4 turnovers. A 6 assist average is very common for top guards in today's NBA. Do you know who has NEVER averaged 7 assists in a season? Mike Conley. Is he not a true point guard because he doesn't average enough assists? Another important aspect of the Randle usage is he is averaging his fewest turnovers since his first three years in the league.

While he may not be a traditional point guard, I would argue Randle is filling the role that other big wings and point forwards have held in the league for years. When they have one of these players, they don't rush to add "true" point guards around them to solve a problem that isn't there. They surround those players with Mo Williams (Cavaliers), Donte DiVincenzo (2020-21 Bucks), Mario Chalmers, Derrick White (Celtics), etc. Those are not the prototypical point guards.

[BlacJacMac]

Julius Randle talks about him and his wife welcoming their first daughter, Kobe Bryant inspiring him to go swimming with sharks and playing with his Minnesota Timberwolves' teammate Anthony Edwards.

Watch on YouTube

[Klomp]

Only way he gets traded is if it's Giannis. Locked up. End of story.

[KGdaBom]

Only way he gets traded is if it's Giannis. Locked up. End of story.

I hope more of us Wolves "Fans" figure this out.

[shrink]

Julius Randle talks about him and his wife welcoming their first daughter, Kobe Bryant inspiring him to go swimming with sharks and playing with his Minnesota Timberwolves' teammate Anthony Edwards.

Thanks for posting that. I had seen previous Julius Randle interviews throughout his career, and he always struck me as a shy kid that was forced to give a speech in front of others. Sometimes shy people accomplish great things, focusing on internal success and not letting others down. Julius had this multiplied a thousand times, being an NBA star in both Los Angeles and New York, with the eyes of millions upon him.

This interview made me feel good for him. I read about how he was so depressed and gave up marijuana to help his mental health, and I think it really helped. Jimmy still leads him through the interview, but this is the most comfortable I’ve ever seen him. I think he is truly happy with his life right now in Minnesota, and I’ll be rooting for him.

[BlacJacMac]

Julius Randle talks about him and his wife welcoming their first daughter, Kobe Bryant inspiring him to go swimming with sharks and playing with his Minnesota Timberwolves' teammate Anthony Edwards.

Thanks for posting that. I had seen previous Julius Randle interviews throughout his career, and he always struck me as a shy kid that was forced to give a speech in front of others. Sometimes shy people accomplish great things, focusing on internal success and not letting others down. Julius had this multiplied a thousand times, being an NBA star in both Los Angeles and New York, with the eyes of millions upon him.

This interview made me feel good for him. I read about how he was so depressed and gave up marijuana to help his mental health, and I think it really helped. Jimmy still leads him through the interview, but this is the most comfortable I’ve ever seen him. I think he is truly happy with his life right now in Minnesota, and I’ll be rooting for him.

When you read about how unhappy he (and his family) were in NY, it really puts the "malcontent" label into perspective.

[TimberKat]

If he could figure out how to throw a lob pass and play center when Gobert is not in the game, I will change my handle to Timberbull. He maybe off to the best start of his career so far.

[BlacJacMac]

Crazy numbers for Julius:

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