Timberwolves trading Julius Randle to Nets in salary dump in 3-team deal that sends Nic Claxton to Bulls: report
The Minnesota Timberwolves are sending Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.
Per the report, the Timberwolves are actually moving down in the draft to facilitate the trade and get Randle off their payroll. Here are the full details of the trade, per Charania:
Minnesota is sending Randle and the No. 28 pick in this week's NBA Draft to the Nets. In return, the Timberwolves will receive only Brooklyn's No. 33 pick in the second round. The Bulls, per the report, will receive Claxton and give up nothing in the deal while taking on the two remaining years of his four-year, $97 million contract.
Stunning fall for Randle two years after KAT deal
The trade marks a jarring turn for the Timberwolves, who parted ways two offseasons ago with Karl-Anthony Towns in the deal to acquire Randle from the New York Knicks.
Towns has since helped lead the Knicks to this year's NBA championship. And the Timberwolves were ready enough to part with Randle to move down in the draft to do so.
Randle has two years remaining on a three-year, $100 million contract that includes a player option for 2027-28. The Nets will take on Randle and his contract in addition to moving up five spots in the draft.
Why the Timberwolves did it
For the Timberwolves, the move frees up cap space as they project to prioritize retaining pending free agent Ayo Dosunmu. It also creates a $33 million trade exception for Minnesota, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.
The Timberwolves acquired Dosunmu from the Bulls via a midseason trade. A career role player, Dosunmu stepped up as a go-to scorer for the Timberwolves during the postseason and helped lead the Timberwolves to a first-round victory over the Denver Nuggets. Dosunmu scored 43 points off the bench in a Game 4 win after Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo left with injury. He'd previously set a career playoff high with 25 points in Minnesota's Game 3 win.
Randle's play, meanwhile, declined in the postseason. After averaging 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5 assists on 48.1% shooting in the regular season, Randle averaged 16 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 39% shooting in 12 postseason games against the Nuggets and Spurs.
He was a liability against the Victor Wembanyama-led San Antonio defense as the Spurs secured a 4-2 series win in the second round. San Antonio projects to stand in Minnesota's way in the postseason for years to come, and the Timberwolves have adjusted their roster accordingly by trading Randle.
A Nets team that's missed the playoffs in three straight seasons picks up a 31-year-old, three-time All-Star in Randle who it hopes can be a centerpiece of its rebuilding roster while improving its draft positioning.
The Bulls, who have the cap space to absorb Claxton's contract, pick up a defense-first center who projects to slot into their starting lineup.
