Timberwolves Commit Long Term to Another Big Man, Julius Randle

Yahoo

07-07-2025

The Minnesota Timberwolves offseason has gotten extremely this week. After losing out on the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, the attention of Tim Connelly immediately spun his complete focus to the NBA Draft, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday.
After the Wolves pulled two international 18-year-old big men out of the 2025 draft heap, Connelly turned his attention to Minnesota's own crop of pending offseason departures, specifically Naz Reid (player option), Julius Randle (player option) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (UFA).
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On Friday evening, Tim settled Reid's uncertainty with a new 5 year, $125 million contract that has received rather widespread criticism nationally, as an overpay. Locally, it was pretty well-known that Naz Reid was going to be paid as a starter, in the neighborhood of $25-30 million per year.
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Minnesota Timberwolves sign Julius Randle to contract extension
Still, I expect the news reported by Shams Charania (ESPN) early Sunday afternoon will likely wrap national pundits up in even more confusion. Not only is Naz Reid coming back, but so is Julius Randle… on a fresh 3-year, $100 million deal ($33.3 million/year) that includes a player option in its final season (2027-28).
Related: Rudy Gobert Finally Says No to International Play
Last season, his first in a Timberwolves uniform, Julius Randle averaged 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He struggled a bit to find his fit during the first half of the season. Then, a midseason injury sidelined the 30-year-old former Kentucky Wildcat for all of February.
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It was then, according to Randle, where he was able to observe his new team, from the outside-looking-in. That perspective allowed him to unlock his fit. From there, his numbers bumped up and the wins rolled in. Minnesota went into February (Randle's month off) with a 27-21 record and questions all over the fit of its roster, especially Randle.
But after Julius' return on March 3, he slid in like the perfect puzzle piece. And from that date on, the Timberwolves went 17-4 to finish the regular season, jumping a half-dozen teams to claim the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket, just outside of the play-in tournament.
Don't worry, there is a method to Tim Connelly's madness
Again, this move is not a huge surprise. July 1 is the deadline for all of these player/team options to be decided, as that is when the new league year will begin and teams can start to sign free agents for the upcoming year.
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Minnesota Timberwolves beat reporters have also confirmed that the Reid + Randle extensions eliminate any chance we had of a Nickeil Alexander-Walker return.
After the Wolves failed to reel in Durant, local reports have pointed to running it back with mostly the same roster. This does not mean Julius Randle will be a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the next three seasons. In fact, don't be shocked if he doesn't last until the trade deadline.
Most likely, the Wolves will start the 2025-26 season with a roster that looks very familiar to last year's. But if a move needs to be made before the playoff run, we all know Tim Connelly will not hesitate. The same thing can be said for next offseason, and the deadlines/offseasons that follow.
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What this does is give both the Timberwolves and Julius Randle more control of over their future. With Reid, Randle, Gobert, Ant and Jaden McDaniels, this organization is stacked with talent that other teams would happily pay a lot for, if trade talks ever get serious. season
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