It’s getting harder to believe that Julius Randle is a long-term fit in Minnesota

We’re now nearly three months into the Julius Randle experiment, and early returns have been less than promising for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Struggling to get back to the level they were at last season as a team, there are some real questions about where Randle fits with the Wolves long term.

When Tim Connelly and the front office first agreed to trade Karl-Anthony Towns and acquire Randle, the motivation behind their move was based almost entirely on team finances. You can argue for or against their decision making process, but the fact is they wanted to be able to keep guys like Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for the future.

By getting Randle on what is essentially an expiring deal (player option for next season), they gave themselves a window of time to evaluate Julius and his overall fit with their roster. If things worked out and he appeared to be a seamless fit, Minnesota could continue with business as usual while making a run toward another Western Conference Finals appearance and, ideally, an NBA championship.

But the flip side of the coin was the prospect that he wouldn’t be a good fit, in which case the Timberwolves would evaluate their options from there. As of this writing, that seems to be where we currently stand. Randle hasn’t raised the ceiling for this group, and much of the Wolves fan base is ready to dump him right now.

Randle has been an awkward fit at best

Does the front office feel the same way? Perhaps, but there have been no definitive indicators from sources within the team to say one way or the other. That said, we can use the eye test as well as pure logical reasoning to determine that it’s hard to see Randle with this team beyond this season.

All things considered, Julius’ player archetype is not what you want operating alongside Rudy Gobert on the interior. With those two and Jaden McDaniels all in the starting lineup, you have three players that opposing defenses don’t feel they have to respect from three-point range. It’s no wonder why the distance is crowded and life is tough for Anthony Edwards right now.

The truth is, Randle is nowhere near the type of floor-spacing deep-shooting big man KAT is, and that alone has changed the equation in a big way for the Timberwolves. Before the season, there was enough reason to believe that this difference could be offset by other factors, but we now see that it is a problem big enough to completely hamper this team’s output.

If things continue the way they’ve been going, it’s extremely hard to see the Wolves extending Randle and keeping him around for the long haul. If that’s the same vision the front office shares, the question now becomes when, not if, he’ll be moved and what kind of return Minnesota can get back. The answers will determine the future of the franchise.