Timberwolves forward Julius Randle has emerged as perhaps the most intriguing potential free agent of the 2025 offseason, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
After trading five-time All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns to New York in exchange for a package headlined by Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the Timberwolves made the Western Conference Finals for a second straight season, with Randle playing a major role in the team’s first- and second-round series wins over the Lakers and Warriors.
Bringing in Randle and DiVincenzo added play-making around incumbent All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards while giving the Timberwolves significantly more financial flexibility to try to re-sign free agent wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker and potential free agent Naz Reid this summer.
Sources tell Fischer that the Timberwolves viewed Randle as a better fit than Towns next to Edwards due to the veteran forward’s ability to score downhill and pass from the post.
As Fischer writes, it took the Timberwolves a year to fully integrate Rudy Gobert following their 2022 deal for the Frenchman, so they may be optimistic about Randle’s potential to get even more comfortable and continue meshing with Edwards in year two. However, Randle – who has a $30.9MM player option for 2025/26 – could also function as a potential salary-matching piece if Minnesota opts to renew its trade-deadline pursuit of Kevin Durant.
There’s more from Minnesota:
- Reid is expected to decline his $15.1MM player option and hit unrestricted free agency, according to Fischer. Although far more teams are projected to have major cap space next summer as opposed to 2025, Reid could earn some long-term security on a new deal now. He had a solid run during the 2024/25 regular season, but was a bit inconsistent during the playoffs.
- According to Fischer, the Timberwolves reached out to at least one Eastern Conference squad in an effort to get help acquiring Durant from the Suns before the trade deadline. Minnesota’s interest in the 15-time All-Star was said to be significant. The 2014 MVP may no longer be quite the defender he was during his Oklahoma City/Golden State prime, but he remains one of the best scorers in the game today, even at the relatively advanced age of 36. After Phoenix finished outside of the playoff mix with a 36-46 record, it seems quite possible a Durant trade could be on the table again this summer.
- In case you missed it, Orlando is viewed as a candidate to get involved in the bidding for Alexander-Walker this summer.