NBA insider Bill Simmons believes New York had some ‘concerns’ around how Julius Randle might fit into the team, which is why the franchise opted to use him as trade piece for a blockbuster deal to get Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
“I feel like there were some real chemistry concerns with Randle,” Simmons said of the trade on his show. “Bringing him in under — as kind of the ugly stepchild of this Villanova 4 team. He’s over there, and he’s underpaid by the fact that he’s a top 50 guy. He’s gonna have to play out of position. [Jalen] Brunson’s gonna have the ball all the time. And they must have not liked something.”
29-year-old Randle will be looking to bring some experience to the Timberwolves, joining veterans like Joe Ingles and Mike Conley in the team’s championship chase.
For the Knicks, the trade could certainly be beneficial, since they will now have a big who can compete with the likes of Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis in the Eastern Conference.
But for KAT, the center position is seemingly only on loan until the injured Mitchell Robinson returns.
For the Wolves, Towns played a huge part in the team’s success last season, alongside Anthony Edwards.
But, Minnesota did land sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo in the trade.
He finished last season with 283 three-pointers made and joined Steph Curry, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Buddy Hield and Luka Doncic as the only players to make 280+ threes in a season, so having him on the floor with Edwards could prove to be a deadly scoring combination.
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