Julius Randle has agreed to a three-year, $100 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reported Sunday the deal includes a player option for the 2027-28 season.
Randle, who held a $30.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season, was one the top available forwards on the free-agent market. A three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection during his time with the Knicks, Randle was traded on the eve of the 2024-25 campaign in the blockbuster deal that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York and turned in a strong year for the Timberwolves, averaging 18.7 points on 48.5% shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 32.3 minutes per game.
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The early read on that trade — something of a shocker, with Minnesota coming off a breakthrough run to the Western Conference finals and former No. 1 pick and franchise cornerstone Towns playing an integral role in it — was that it was primarily about finances. The goal: Getting off Towns’ four-year, $220 million extension and breaking one giant contract up into multiple, lower-cost contributors in search of greater depth, increased roster-management flexibility and potential future cost savings — even if it meant a drop-off in on-court effectiveness and diminishing chances of making another deep playoff run.
After working through some to-be-expected early-season struggles developing chemistry with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, though, Randle found his niche as a complementary option, balancing bully-ball drives with quick-decision playmaking to help fuel a Wolves offense that ranked eighth in the NBA in offensive efficiency — and generated more free throws, shots at the rim and corner 3-point attempts with him on the floor than off it.
Randle really hit the gas late in the season following a late January groin strain. After returning at the beginning of March, the 30-year-old averaged just under 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists per 36 minutes of floor time, shooting 59% on 2-pointers, 40% on 3-pointers and 79% at the free-throw line over that span. With Randle and fellow former Knick Donte…
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