3 teams silly enough to save the Timberwolves from Julius Randle and why

The Minnesota Timberwolves have predictably come to regret the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. Many of us stretched to justify it in the moment — Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo were really good, once upon a time — but it was a financially motivated trade, and those almost never tend to age well. Good teams should embrace the luxury tax and flesh out star-studded rosters, rather than jumping through hoops to cut overhead.

Randle, a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA forward, has been far worse than anybody could've realistically expected. It was always a downgrade, but KAT is playing perhaps the best basketball of his career in New York, while Randle is leaning into all the wrong habits. His wonky shot selection bumps awkwardly against Anthony Edwards and the defense is less than ideal.

Minnesota lost size and spacing in one fell swoop. That was simply not the way to improve upon last season's conference championship roster. Randle does, in theory, give the Wolves another halfcourt creator to ease Ant's burden, but neither is a great passer, and Minnesota is getting less from Mike Conley than ever before.

The Wolves are a worse team in terms of spacing, defense, and rebounding with Randle in the lineup. It has been hard to find positives, whether you blame Randle individually, or how the pieces fit around him. Tim Connelly is a great GM, but he overthought this one and put Minnesota's title window in jeopardy. Now, he'll try to get out of it at the trade deadline.

Randle will not have a robust market, especially with his $30.9 million player option looming over any trade, but it's not impossible for the Wolves to find a taker. The Knicks did, and got an All-NBA center out of it.

Here are a few of the most logical landing spots for Minnesota's misbegotten power forward.

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3. Washington Wizards

So, the Washington Wizards have six wins and no designs on competing in the near future. Why take on Randle and his hefty contract?

Well, the reason(s) are simple. Either Minnesota would dump a few second-round picks along with Randle's contract, allowing the Wizards to improve their draft stores and potentially flip Randle down the line, when his value is higher and his contract is more palatable (next season, when it's expiring). Or, Minnesota can swap bad contracts with Washington. Kyle Kuzma has underperformed wildly this season and has an extra year on his deal, but he might be a better fit than Randle on the Wolves.

Transforming Kuzma and salary-matching contracts into Randle might actually be good business for the Wizards. Obviously Washington doesn't want to get "better," but the Wizards are hurling toward 14 percent lottery odds no matter what. Randle is a temporary drifter, staying in DC only until a better situation comes up. In the meantime, Washington can at least get more helpful contributions than what Kuzma is providing. The Wizards don't care about winning, but there are still benefits to establishing good habits and playing respectable basketball. Kuz has been a weight dragging the entire team down.

The challenge, of course, is convincing Minnesota to take on Kuzma — a flipping of the script. That said, Kuzma was a hot commodity as recently as last season and his contract, while a year longer, is also less expensive annually ($23.5 million and descending with each successive campaign). One has to think he'd look better on a real team with something to play for. If the Wizards throw in another helpful piece, like Corey Kispert or Marvin Bagley, Minnesota would have to at least think it over.

2. Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are another tanking team with clear interest in absorbing "bad" contracts for extra draft capital. Moreover, Charlotte presently rosters Miles Bridges, one of the more maddening "starting-caliber" players in the NBA. Randle is flat-out better than Bridges, and might actually give Charlotte a useful half-court dynamic next to LaMelo Ball.

There's a risk of Randle helping Charlotte win a few too many games, but the lottery odds are too flat nowadays to get worked up over such things. The difference between the fifth-worst record and the eighth-worst record is a four-percent gap in No. 1 pick odds. Atlanta picked first last season with the 10th-worst record, and Randle won't get Charlotte anywhere close to the playoffs.

Charlotte is running out of time to get this LaMelo Ball project off the ground. He's an incredible player, but the team can't seem to stay healthy or actually win games. Charles Lee has earned nothing but positive reviews and LaMelo is playing the best basketball of his career, only for the Hornets to sit 18 games below .500 in a soft division.

Randle, for all his warts, is better than Charlotte's current options, and there'd be something to seeing what Randle, Ball, and a healthy Brandon Miller can accomplish come 2026, when Randle's expiring contract becomes very easily movable. If the Wolves are willing to take on the Miles Bridges contract and maybe a couple extra pieces, Charlotte should give it a whirl.

1. Miami Heat

Speaking of the truly "silly" teams, the Miami Heat feel like a real possibility here. It's not impossible for Randle to get wrapped up in the circus of a four- or five-team Jimmy Butler trade, with Miami taking on Randle and other so-called winning pieces to sustain its postseason streak under Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley.

We know Riley is not interested in a complete teardown. We also know Randle is capable of performing much better in a more optimal setting — ideally with a bit more freedom and a better spacing apparatus around him. The Heat are great at maximizing unconventional skill sets and there isn't a coach I'd trust more to get Randle back in All-Star shape than Spo.

The Heat would need to get something else back, of course, especially with the salary-matching demands of trading Butler. This would be an exceptionally complicated trade, as Butler would be going to Phoenix, not Minnesota, but the Suns are clearly motivated to get something across the finish line. It's not that hard to picture the broader mechanics here: Butler to Phoenix, Randle (and extra salaries) to Miami, Bradley Beal to a surprise third team, and a few decent role players funneled to Minnesota.

Should Miami be actively pursuing Randle? Probably not, but he's still a fine (if frustrating and inconsistent) player with a strong track record of elite regular-season production. The Heat need a vibe shift. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo are great players and Randle might help Miami stick in a tight East postseason race.