The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Julius Randle 7th overall out of Kentucky in 2014. However, he didn’t play his official rookie year until 2015 because he suffered a broken leg 14 minutes into his NBA debut.
The Lakers opened the 2015 season at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was an emotional game because the Timberwolves organization was mourning Flip Saunders three days after he died.
Adding to the emotions, fellow Kentucky star Karl-Anthony Towns was making his NBA debut. Kevin Garnett was also playing in only his sixth game back with the Wolves after they traded him to the Boston Celtics in 2007, where he won his only championship.
During the game, Garnett got in Randle’s face. Garnett is a 21-year NBA vet; Randle, a 20-year-old rookie. Garnett is known for his trash-talking, especially with younger players. He loved to get in their head and test their mental strength. Most might hear KG bark at them and remain silent so they don’t upset him. After all, he has the resume to talk; rookies don’t.
However, when KG said something derogatory in Randle’s ear, Julius turned around and fired back, glaring into Garnett’s eyes.
“He responded like Julius Randle. He responded like a grown-ass man,” said Kobe Bryant when a reporter asked about the altercation. “I think KG has a lot of respect for him because of it.”
There was no ill intent from either side. Two strong-willed players battled in a game filled with emotion. “It didn’t scare me; I am not scared of anybody,” said Randle. “We know that is his thing – try to get in your head. I have watched him my whole life. I knew what to expect.”
We all know the cliché about how when you first arrive in prison, you must beat up the biggest person – or at least make an attempt – to assert your dominance and let other inmates know you are not someone to be messed with. Randle showed the entire NBA that he wouldn’t back down from anyone, even a 15-time All-Star known for his trash-talking antics.
Nine years later, after four seasons in L.A., one with the New Orleans Pelicans and five with the New York Knicks, Randle finds himself on the team against which he played his second-ever NBA game. Everyone knows his presence brings toughness, but he now must figure out how to fit on a new team. His strong-willed nature will help with that.
The Knicks and the Timberwolves turned the NBA world upside down on Friday night. Tim Connelly drove to Towns’ house in suburban Minneapolis to break the new minutes before Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported that the Wolves were trading Towns to New York in exchange for Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, and a protected first-round pick.
The trade didn’t become official immediately, but the players involved began packing their bags to move to a new city just four days before training camp began.
By late September, players are gearing up for the season and putting the finishing touches on their off-season work before training camp gives way to the preseason. The trade stunned Towns and likely Randle because two days before, he participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Charter Basketball School in the Bronx alongside Adam Silver and Tom Thibodeau.
Randle and Towns have minimal time to get on the same page with their teammates before the season starts in late October. Still, they are both expected to start.
Towns may have an easier transition in New York because he plays under Thibodeau, who coached Towns for three years in Minnesota. Randle also played for Chris Finch in New Orleans in 2018. However, Finch was an assistant then. Now he’s calling the shots and needs to figure out a way to implement Randle effectively that won’t bog the offensive flow down and disrupt what Anthony Edwards likes to do.
Randle is a polarizing offensive force in a good and bad way. He has always been a high-usage player, even in New Orleans and Los Angeles, but especially under Thibodeau in New York. It’s no surprise that Randle averaged more than 35 minutes per game during four of his five years with the Knicks – Thibs doesn’t like to bench his starters.
Over Randle’s 345 games in New York, he had an average usage rate of 29.6%. That would have ranked him in the 97th percentile last year, according to CleaningtheGlass.
Usage rate measures the percentage of a team’s plays in which a player scores, assists, or turns the ball over while on the floor. Randle ranked in the upper percentile in every season with the Knicks.
- 2019-20: 27.4% (97th percentile)
- 2020-21: 30.3% (98th percentile)
– 2020-21 playoffs: 33.0% (94th percentile) - 2021-22: 29.6% (96th percentile)
- 2022-23: 29.2% (97th percentile)
– 2022-23 playoffs: 28.2% (84th percentile) - 2023-24: 29.6% (97th percentile)
Even with Jalen Brunson emerging as New York’s captain this summer and having a 33.7% usage rate in 2023-24, Randle remained a pillar of Thibodeau’s offense. He averaged 24 points, 9.2 rebounds, and five assists on 47.2% from the floor in 46 games.
No player can have a high usage rate if the ball isn’t in their hands frequently, and Randle excels at working in isolation. He has not been an effective off-ball player in the NBA, primarily because his team hasn’t asked him to do so. However, that will be different in Minnesota. Randle and the Wolves must figure out a way to balance his touches.
Randle is a face-up and a back-down bruiser, unique in today’s NBA. 39% of his attempts last season were in the mid-range, and 33% were in the short mid-range, ranking him in the 90th and 97th percentiles, respectively. Only 26% of his attempts came beyond the arc, where he shot a below-average 31.3% last year.
That’s where Finch needs to tap into his elite ability to integrate talent.
Despite being an inside-the-arc threat, Randle isn’t exclusively a back-to-the-basket big man. Instead, he is a versatile 6’8” forward capable of getting to his shots in many ways. He had to get creative in New York because most of his minutes came alongside non-shooting centers like Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Taj Gibson, Nerlens Noel, Precious Achiuwa, and Jericho Sims. That didn’t deter Julius from leaning into his strengths and playing the game his way. Still, he had to figure out different ways to succeed.
Randle operates in the paint while sharing the floor with another center by using the short mid-range (4-14 feet) to his advantage. Analytics may not like the shot, but it has given him success. Randle doesn’t always go to the rim when he attacks the lane. Only 35% of his shots were at the rim last year. Instead, he will pull up outside the restricted area, allowing him to score from a comfortable area while keeping options open for his teammates.
Here we see Randle with a mismatch against 6’5” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He manages to get into the paint without being doubled because of the way his teammates are spacing from deep. Michael Porter Jr. is the nearest defender who could have helped. However, he couldn’t commit fully to Randle because he was defending DiVincenzo, who shot 40.1% from three last season. The Knicks put the defense in conflict, which allowed Randle to get enough daylight to shoot.
He likes to operate around the rim, but Randle doesn’t just stand in the paint and wait for the ball to come to him. He attacks from the perimeter, making him a three-alarm fire – threatening to pass, shoot, or drive.
Randle’s biggest perimeter tools are his speed and ball control. He isn’t a great three-point shooter, but he’s good enough to keep defenses honest. They have to close out to him completely, which opens up momentum drives into the lane.
Towns is good off the bounce, but Randle is quicker and more physical. He has a unique ability to absorb contact and get his shot off before the defense can collapse. That allows the big man he’s playing with to remain in the dunker’s spot. Even if the defender guarding the center comes to help, Randle has no issue powering through like a locomotive.
Randle hauled in 2.2 offensive rebounds last season. If he’s near the rim, he rarely gives up on the play after one of his teammates shoots the ball. That’s where his aggressiveness and strong-willed approach manifest.
Minnesota’s emphasis on spacing with Randle on the floor will be even more important than it was with the Knicks to ensure that the lane isn’t consistently clogged when Edwards attacks the rim. The Wolves had issues with that during Gobert’s first year in Minnesota.
Randle will need to space from the perimeter frequently, which ideally positions him to naturally increase his three-point frequency, which was in the 18th percentile last season.
However, Randle isn’t going to emulate KAT’s three-point shooting. Therefore, finding a way to balance his touches is critical to offensive fluidity. He is a three-time All-Star, and the Wolves will need him to be a big part of the offense as they search to fill the 21.8 points Towns gave them last season. However, that can’t come at the expense of Edwards’ comfort.
As the Wolves get on the same page with Randle, his passing will be the lynchpin of his success. It will also help mitigate any fit issues that may arise early in the year.
The fanbase can spark natural concern when they hear Randle is a low-post threat playing alongside Gobert. After all, Towns prides himself on his three-point shooting, and even his fit next to Gobert was occasionally clunky. However, Randle is more of a natural point-forward than KAT. Julius shouldn’t have much difficulty getting on the same page with Gobert because he has spent most of his career next to Robinson, who plays similarly to Gobert.
Robinson played 31 games last year because of injury, making only 73 shots, all of which came around the rim. However, in that small sample size, Randle recorded more assists to Robinson (12) than anyone else on the Knicks.
Finch tapping into 4-5 pick-and-rolls should be incredibly effective this year, as it was with Towns and Gobert. But Randle is much more of a natural ball handler than KAT and has the speed to take most players off the bounce despite weighing 250 lbs.
“He can space the floor, but also be a secondary playmaker who can bring the ball up the court faster than some point guards,” Mike Conley said regarding Randle’s game during media day. [He is] as physical as anyone in the league, gets to the free-throw line, and creates mismatches.”
It will take time for everyone to get on the same page. But Randle will fit in well with the Wolves. He has experience playing in a similar situation and now plays under a head coach who excels at integrating talent.
The Wolves have one goal in mind this year: winning a championship. Randle already fits the culture Minnesota is trying to build. As he works to fit on the court, his strong-willed nature in his second career NBA game and every contest since will positively impact the Timberwolves and make his transition smoother.
