In the immediate aftermath of the trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the resounding sentiment was that the Minnesota Timberwolves had mortgaged their shooting and offense to escape the second apron‘s stranglehold.
The self-appointed greatest shooting big man of all time’s departure would kill Minnesota’s spacing, clog Anthony Edwards’ lane to the basket, and grind the offense to a halt. KAT scored the second most points in Timberwolves history and shot nearly 40 percent from three. He also led a competent offense in almost every one of his nine seasons in Minnesota before the Wolves shockingly shipped him to New York and back into Tom Thibodeau’s clutches before training camp.
Randle has been a streaky and often below-average three-point shooter in his career, and DiVincenzo only recently emerged as an above-average high-volume three-point shooter. Most around the league saw this trade as a major step back for Minnesota’s shooting and offense.
Two weeks into the 2024-25 NBA season, the Timberwolves are thriving and have become one of the best shooting teams in the NBA. Seven games in, and the Wolves are the third-best outside shooting team in the young NBA season, making 39.8 percent of their attempts from deep.
Not only are they making a huge number of their threes, but the Timberwolves are also launching 40.6 three-point attempts per game, fifth most across the league. They are led by Edwards, who buries 45 percent of his 11.4 threes per game. That’s a nearly 10 percent improvement from three on 4.7 more attempts per game than last season. Edwards is launching the fourth most threes per game this season and has emerged as an elite high-volume three-point shooting threat.
Naz Reid is continuing his bid for world domination by hitting 48.5 percent of his threes on a similar volume as his Sixth Man of the Year season last year. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has rediscovered his jumper to the tune of 50 percent from three. Mike Conley and DiVincenzo are finding their rhythm after a slow start.
However, Randle’s blistering start to the season is the biggest surprise. Randle is a career 33.5 percent three-point shooter on 3.5 attempts per game. However, he’s shooting 46.4 percent from beyond the arc on four attempts per game to start his Timberwolves tenure. He’s shooting 47.4 percent on above-the-break threes in an area where he shot 27.5 percent last season in New York.
Is Towns shooting 57.1 percent from three on the same volume as Randle to begin the season? Yes.
Towns has easily transitioned from small-market superstar to Madison Square Garden Marquee player. Still, Randle and the rest of the Wolves are filling the void as well as anyone could have predicted. It’s only been seven games, and Randle has attempted 28 threes. Still, the early returns should ease the concerns centered around the shooting as the Timberwolves have rebuilt Towns in the aggregate.
Randle also adds a component to the offense that Towns could never quite grasp in his nine years in Minneapolis. He can consistently make plays for his teammates and move the ball within the flow of the offense.
Towns was a decent passer for a seven-footer and was one of the first players in Minnesota to unlock the lob pass to Rudy Gobert. But for every big-to-big lob Towns threw, there was a no-look over-the-shoulder pass out of bounds behind it.
Randle is averaging 4.7 assists per game in a Wolves uniform. Not gaudy numbers nor his career high. Still, for a player who was hit with the “selfish” tag and had fans worried he’d pound the ball into the ground, Randle is playing his role perfectly now. Randle can also offer secondary and occasionally primary shot creation in a way Towns could never master.
The offense is improving on the fly while still a work in progress. In his fifth year as head coach, Chris Finch is orchestrating the 12th-best offense in the NBA, which has been the best since the 2021-22 season. But there are still some things they must improve upon as the season progresses.
While the Wolves are making it rain from three, Edwards is not getting into the paint as much as he did last season and is less efficient when he does get to the rim. Free-throw shooting is an early issue, as the Wolves are just 24th in the league from the charity stripe. Turnovers are also problematic for a team hoping to contend.
The three-point shooting barrage doesn’t appear to be a mirage. Even if Ant, Naz, Randle, and NAW regress toward their mean, Conley, DiVincenzo, and Jaden McDaniels are bound to improve on their slow starts. The worry early on was that the Wolves wouldn’t be able to shoot the ball, and the offense would clog early on. So far, the shooting is the best it’s ever been, and the offense is better after the trade. It’s early yet, but the Timberwolves seem to have replaced shooting with even more shooting.
