Julius Randle Rumors

Watching the Wolves come out flat against the Blazers, giving up 68 points in the first half and turning the ball over five times in the first quarter, apparently was enough for Finch to go somewhere he rarely goes. Julius Randle did not argue with Finch’s assessment. “Just gotta go get the ball,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not tactical or all that stuff. We just gotta go get the ball out of the air. They are quicker to the ball than us right now. We shouldn’t lose games from rebounding.” But they do. The Wolves are 15th in the NBA in second-chance points allowed. Only five teams behind them have winning records. They are 17th in defensive rebound percentage, and 24th over the last 15 games.

New York Times

Shamit Dua: "I think Zion's going to get extended... When Joe Dumars got here, there were some tough conversations had with Zion about what the expectation is for professionalism. And to Dumars's credit, Zion really took that to heart... He really wants to be in New Orleans, and he really, really wants the narrative on him to flip... I would model it after Julius Randle's extension... around three years, $100 million or so. Around 30 to $35 million a year. I think it's a good sweet spot for Zion."

HoopsHype

Jon Krawczynski: MIN 116, PHX 104. Wolves grind out a really good win against a good team to go up by 3 games on the 7-seed. Randle: 32p, 7r Hyland: 22p, 5a Gobert: 19r Dosunmu: 19p, 5r McDaniels: 16p, 7r, 4a SloMo: 7p, 6a, 5r

x.com

Paul Pierce says the Timberwolves lack leadership: “Not to say that Anthony Edwards is not a leader or Julius Randle. But I also think when you trying to win a championship there is got to be somebody in that locker room that everybody respects that’s been to the promised land, to help you. Like, for us we had veterans Ray,KG, myself but we didn’t win a championship. Having James Posey in that locker room who won a championship was important for us. And I think that’s the one piece they’re missing a guy that’s been around the block, that’s like look guys it’s playoffs time and lock in and practice habits right now, a lot of little things.”

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Jon Krawczynski: Julius Randle: "The inevitable happened because we gave them too many second-chance opportunities early in the game and they just piled up as the game went on. It kind of set a tone from the beginning. We played pretty good defense. We just gave them too many opportunities"

bsky.app

Dillon Brooks gives his opinion on the players ranked above him in the NBA top-50 Joel Embiid: "No, he's too hurt you can probably go to sleep for a straight week and he's probably hurt again" Austin Reaves: "Man a foul baiter" Shaedon Sharpe: "I'm not rating him" Julius Randle: "One of the biggest complainers, he wants all the calls because he plays the most physical him, Zion Williamson and Giannis play so physical" Paolo Banchero: "Down year for Paolo, could be way better he's supposed be LeBron status" LeBron James: "He ain't having a better year than me" Josh Giddey: "Hell no" Rudy Gobert: "Nah" Michael Porter Jr: "He having a good year" Desmond Bane: "That's my young boy" Kon Knueppel: "He's having a good year" Bradon Ingram: "I rate his game all the way" Diontae George: "He's having a great year but he's SOFT" Amen Thompson: "That's my guy" Cooper Flagg: "I rate him.. not a better year than me because if I was with the Mavs would be in the playoff hunt"

x.com

Jon Krawczynski: MIN 115, TOR 107 Wolves with a superb second half to win their 5th straight. They are now in 3rd place in the West. Edwards: 22p, 5-8 3s Gobert: 18p, 12r, 3b Randle: 17p, 8r DiVincenzo: 16p, 5r Dosunmu: 13p, +25

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Jon Krawczynski: MIN 117, MEM 110. Once again, not always pretty, but another W is all that matters. 4 in a row, 7 of 8. Edwards: 41p, 6r, 5s +13 Randle: 23p, 11r, 4a McDaniels: 16p, 7r Dosunmu: 14p, 4a DiVincenzo: 7p, 6a, 4r, +21

x.com

Chris Hine: Julius Randle’s quest to play all 82 will continue after coming in as questionable with back spasms. The team says he is available for this afternoon’s tipoff in Denver.

bsky.app

Randle followed up a triple-double against Atlanta on Monday with his best performance of the season on Wednesday against Portland to send the Timberwolves into the All-Star break with the good vibes flowing. He scored 41 points, 23 in the fourth quarter, grabbed seven rebounds and was engaged defensively in a 133-109 victory. “I wasn’t invited to the cool kids table,” Randle said of the All-Star Game. “But it’s cool. I’ll go enjoy the beach with my family and worry about the most important thing, which is winning a championship.”

New York Times

The entire Wolves team had been down in the dumps over the last two weeks, carrying the weight of trade-deadline rumors and the fatigue of the dog days of the season like it was a piano on their backs. Randle was chief among the downtrodden, his name thrown around in the Giannis Antetokounmpo drama while he processed the disappointment of not making the All-Star team. Everyone felt it. “Julius is a guy who plays with his heart on his sleeve,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “He was kind of not himself recently. … He’s so important for us in so many ways. We just need him to come back to the pack, if you will.”

New York Times

Chris Hine: Kris Dunn is ejected, Julius Randle with just a tech. Reason Dunn is ejected is because he put his hand in Randle's face, official James Williams said.

bsky.app

Dane Moore: Asked Chris Finch about how Ayo Dosunmu's skillset will be of value to the Wolves offense, specifically the ability to both shoot and play off the catch. "We need more guys that can break the paint... He's shown incredible offensive growth in his time in the league... With Julius and Ant, he's gonna have to be very comfortable off the ball... Might be a little bit of a dynamic that he's not used to... I told him today, 'do your thing, we'll figure it out -- don't overthink this, don't overcompensate.'"

x.com

‪Jon Krawczynski: As much excitement as there was for a potential Giannis trade Antetokounmpo, there was a lot of nervousness, too, at the prospects of saying goodbye to some valued players. Jaden McDaniels is staying. Naz Reid is staying. Julius Randle is staying. Rudy Gobert is staying. Nothing ever got close with MLW. Wolves march on.

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