New York Knicks fans thought 2024 would be different. The vibe shifted after the OG Anunoby trade at the end of December. Unfortunately, it shifted again at the end of the following month when Julius Randle dislocated his shoulder in what was also Anunoby's last game before he had minor elbow surgery.
The belief was that Randle would avoid surgery and return in time for the playoffs, but that didn't happen. The game he got hurt in was his last in a Knicks uniform, as he was traded to the Timberwolves days before training camp. The trade happened several weeks after he became extension-eligible, so fans knew he could be on the way out. Nobody knew it would happen that soon, though.
Minnesota made a run to the Western Conference Finals a few months before, making the timing of the trade hard for Timberwolves fans to grasp. They didn't want Karl-Anthony Towns to leave. It took a few months for Randle (and Donte DiVincenzo) to acclimate to his new environment, showing fans why he should stay in Minneapolis long-term.
Randle's Achilles' heel in New York was the postseason. His first All-Star season in 2021 didn't translate to the playoffs when the Hawks eliminated the Knicks in the first round. New York missed the postseason in 2022, and the following season, a nagging ankle injury resulted in another poor outing for Randle. He didn't get a chance to change his playoff narrative before leaving the Knicks, but he's doing it with the Timberwolves.
Julius Randle is having a great series for the Timberwolves
The Timberwolves drew the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. Minnesota was eliminated by Dallas last year and would have to face Luka Doncic again in 2025, but on a different team. Los Angeles entered the playoffs on a high, with many people picking the Lakers to make it out of the West.
Anything can happen, but it doesn't look like that'll happen. Minnesota has a 3-1 lead over LA, meaning the Timberwolves need to win one of the next three games to advance to the second round.
Anthony Edwards was the star of the show in the playoffs last year, and that's been the case again. He dropped 43 points in Minnesota's 116-113 comeback win over LA on Sunday. Edwards couldn't do it alone, as he got help from his supporting cast. Randle was the Timberwolves' second-highest scorer with 25 points (9-of-22), seven rebounds, three assists, one block, and no turnovers in 43 minutes.
Randle is averaging 22.5 points through four playoff games and has scored at least 22 points in the last three. His impact isn't only being felt on the offensive end, either. He's been engaged on defense, guarding LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Many Timberwolves fans worried that Randle wasn't the right fit for their team after the trade, but he's proven them wrong.
He has a $30.9 million player option for next season, so Randle has upped his value at the perfect time. Randle has gone from a question mark in Minnesota to a player fans want to see in a Timberwolves jersey again next season. There is still a lot of basketball left to be played (at least for Minnesota in the playoffs), but Randle is having a great series.
The narrative that Randle was nothing more than a regular-season player was severely exaggerated. The Lakers can only wish that were the case. This version of Randle is the one Minnesota envisioned when the trade happened in October. Most Knicks fans don't regret the trade (KAT also had a big game on Sunday), but they do wish they had gotten to see Randle play at a high level on this stage in New York. He looks like a winning basketball player, after all.