{"id":201553,"date":"2026-06-22T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=201553"},"modified":"2026-06-22T00:27:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:27:52","slug":"julius-randle-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/22\/julius-randle-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Timberwolves\u2019 Julius Randle Trade Talks Expose Front Office\u2019s Real Offseason Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Timberwolves\u2019 offseason is no longer just about deciding what to do with Julius Randle<\/a> after another playoff run ended short of the Finals. It is also about what Donte DiVincenzo<\/a>\u2019s torn Achilles means for a backcourt already facing uncertainty, how much flexibility the front office can create with the No. 28 pick, and whether Minnesota can reshape an expensive roster around Anthony Edwards<\/a> without taking a step back in the Timberwolves’ biggest offseason<\/a> that could define the next phase of this core.<\/p>\n

That is why recent reporting that the Wolves have explored the trade value of Randle, DiVincenzo, and their first-round pick feels less like routine offseason homework and more like the early outline of a much bigger roster move.<\/p>\n

Timberwolves\u2019 Julius Randle Trade Talks Expose Front Office\u2019s Real Offseason Problem<\/h2>\n

Julius Randle Trade Talks Reveal Timberwolves Plan<\/h3>\n

Minnesota\u2019s first problem is simple enough. The roster is expensive, and it is about to get harder to manage. Randle is owed $33.3 million next season, DiVincenzo is on a $12.5 million expiring deal, and the Wolves are already carrying one of the league\u2019s heaviest payrolls.<\/p>\n

Ayo Dosunmu<\/a> is also headed to free agency, which means keeping him would push even more money onto the books. Put those pieces together, and it becomes easier to see why Minnesota would be checking the market on one big contract, one useful matching salary, and its top draft asset at the same time.<\/p>\n

Julius Randle’s Playoff Drop Changed Minnesota\u2019s View<\/h3>\n

That is the part the surface-level trade rumor misses. Randle was productive in the regular season. He averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, giving the Wolves another scorer next to Edwards and another frontcourt creator next to Rudy Gobert<\/a>. On most nights, that was enough to make the Randle fit<\/a> work.<\/p>\n

The problem is that Minnesota is no longer judging Randle on most nights. It is judging him in May. In 12 playoff games, his scoring dropped to 16.0 points per game, and his efficiency fell with it. That drop matters because the Wolves did not trade for him just to survive January. They needed him to hold up as a second option once the postseason narrowed the floor and exposed the Timberwolves’ incomplete offense<\/a> that still shows up when Edwards needs more help.<\/p>\n

Donte DiVincenzo’s Injury Reshaped Timberwolves Offseason Math<\/h3>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Then came the second problem, and this one may matter just as much. DiVincenzo tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the first-round series against Denver, an injury that now clouds his entire 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

That leaves Minnesota trying to solve two issues at once. It has to decide whether Randle is still the right high-salary piece alongside Edwards, and figure out how to rebuild a backcourt that may open next season without one of its main ball-handlers.<\/p>\n

That is why DiVincenzo belongs in this report, even if he may not play much next season. His contract still matters. At $12.5 million and set to expire after the season, it is one of Minnesota\u2019s cleanest salary-matching tools if the front office wants to bundle contracts into a larger move.<\/p>\n

Timberwolves\u2019 No. 28 Pick Signals Bigger Trade Intent<\/h3>\n

The No. 28 pick is what turns this from a simple Randle rumor into something more serious. Teams do not usually check the value of a veteran starter, an injured rotation guard, and a first-round pick in the same breath unless they are looking at package structures.<\/p>\n

That does not confirm a blockbuster is coming, but it does show Minnesota is studying more than one version of the same question. Can it turn salary, draft capital, and a playoff disappointment into a cleaner roster around Edwards before next season starts?<\/p>\n

Ayo Dosunmu Could Drive Timberwolves\u2019 Next Move<\/h3>\n

There is one more layer here. The Wolves are not entering this offseason with a settled backcourt. Dosunmu is eligible for a new contract, and Minnesota has strong reasons to keep him after the season he just had. If the front office believes Dosunmu is part of the answer, then every other dollar on the roster becomes more important.<\/p>\n

That is where Randle, DiVincenzo, and the No. 28 pick connect. This may not be about moving one player. It may be about creating the room and roster balance to solve several problems at once.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Timberwolves\u2019 offseason is no longer just about deciding what to do with Julius Randle after another playoff run ended short of the Finals. It is also about what Donte DiVincenzo\u2019s torn Achilles means for a backcourt already facing uncertainty, how much flexibility the front office can create with the No. 28 pick, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5867,"featured_media":201580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,21,62,3],"tags":[2109,3967,1553,510,394],"class_list":["post-201553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-timberwolves","category-nba","category-news","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-ayo-dosunmu","tag-donte-divincenzo","tag-julius-randle","tag-rudy-gobert"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5867"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201553"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201581,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201553\/revisions\/201581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}