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SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - MAY 12: Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts during the second quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Frost Bank Center on May 12, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
The New York Knicks do not need social media to validate the Karl-Anthony Towns trade anymore, but Julius Randle’s latest NBA move gave Knicks fans another chance to revisit it.
Minnesota is sending Randle and the No. 28 pick in the NBA Draft to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-team deal that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Timberwolves will acquire Brooklyn’s No. 33 pick in the deal.
Just in: Minnesota is sending Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick in the NBA Draft to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls, sources tell ESPN. The Timberwolves will acquire Brooklyn’s No. 33 pick for Randle and No. 28.
That immediately brought the conversation back to New York. Two seasons ago, the Knicks sent Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, a future first-round pick and other pieces out in the three-team deal that brought Towns to Madison Square Garden.
Now Randle is headed back to New York — but to Brooklyn — after a Minnesota stint that included some productive basketball, a big contract and a second trade that looked, to many around the NBA, like a salary reset.
Kevin O’Connor posted that it was “safe to say Knicks won the KAT/Randle trade.” In another post, he wrote, “Oof Minnesota wanted off Randle BAD.” Kellan Olson called it “brutal” that the Timberwolves had to cap dump Randle, while Steve Popper pointed to a larger Knicks front-office trend: New York has shown a willingness to decide which extensions it wants to give, and move on from the ones it does not.
That is the Knicks-side lesson. Randle was not a failure in Minnesota. But the Knicks turned a beloved, complicated, high-usage forward into a championship-level center fit.
Randle’s first season in Minnesota was not some disaster. He averaged 18.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 2024-25 and helped the Timberwolves reach the Western Conference finals, according to NBA.com’s AP report on his next contract, a three-year, $100 million deal.
He also had real playoff moments. In the 2025 postseason, Randle averaged 21.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists across 15 games, according to StatMuse.
That was enough to make the original trade more complicated than the immediate Knicks victory lap suggested. For one year, both teams could claim some version of success. New York reached the Eastern Conference finals with Towns. Minnesota reached the Western Conference finals with Randle and Anthony Edwards. NBA.com even framed the deal in May 2025 as one that had worked for both teams.
The next season changed the tone.
Randle averaged 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the 2025-26 regular season. But Minnesota’s playoff run ended earlier, with Randle’s NBA.com game log showing a 17-point, 10-rebound performance in a Game 5 loss to the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.
That matters because the Timberwolves did not just move Randle. They attached a first-round pick to do it and moved down from No. 28 to No. 33.
For Knicks fans, that is the part that makes the old trade look different. New York did not simply choose Towns over Randle. It avoided being the team later trying to unwind Randle’s next contract.
The strongest argument for the Knicks is not that Randle became a bad player. He did not.
It is that New York nailed the timing.
The Knicks moved Randle before his next major contract decision, acquired a better offensive fit next to Brunson and pushed their roster into a championship window. Minnesota got a productive season, a conference finals run and then moved Randle again with draft compensation attached.
That is why the social media reaction hit so quickly. Randle’s latest trade was not just Nets news or Timberwolves news. It was another piece of evidence in a Knicks roster-building case that looks stronger with every step.
Erik Anderson is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, MLB and NFL for Heavy.com. He also focuses on the trading card market. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson
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