The Minnesota Timberwolves are a very respectable 15-9 on the NBA season thanks to a tremendous season from Anthony Edwards, who has finally broken out from an efficiency perspective.
However, the Timberwolves have one very glaring problem that will almost certainly sabotage their chances of making a deep playoff run: they don’t have a point guard.
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Donte DiVincenzo is the de facto starting point guard for Minnesota, even though the entire world knows he is a shooting guard. Meanwhile, Mike Conley looks absolutely cooked off the bench.
This has resulted in Edwards having to take on a playmaking role, particularly late in games. That’s a lot of pressure to place on the shoulders of Edwards, and giving him that much responsibility could end up hurting him in the long run.
That’s why the Timberwolves need to make a trade for a floor general, and Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes sees only one viable path to doing so: moving Julius Randle.
“If the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to solve their point guard problem, they’ll need to surrender their best frontcourt facilitator in Julius Randle,” Hughes wrote. “The 31-year-old’s $30.8 million salary will be key in bringing back a high-end starter, and one assumes the Wolves handed Naz Reid that $125 million extension over the summer with an eye toward promoting him if Randle headed out in a trade.”
The Timberwolves initially acquired Randle in the blockbuster trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks last October. Minnesota then signed Randle to a three-year, $100 million contract extension over the summer. The final year of the deal is a $35.8 million player option.
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Randle is averaging 22.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and six assists over 33.7 minutes per game on 49.9/35.6/83.0 shooting splits this season, so jettisoning him would definitely hurt.
But Hughes feels it would be the most logical move for the Wolves moving forward.
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