Wolves Trolled by Fans After Julius Randle Traded in 'Salary Dump,' KAT Wins NBA Title with Knicks

The Minnesota Timberwolves made waves before the 2024-25 season when they traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for a package that included Julius Randle.

And now Towns is a champion in New York, while Randle is heading to the Brooklyn Nets in what appeared to be something of a salary-dump trade.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday that Minnesota traded Randle and the No. 28 overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft to the Nets in a three-team deal. Nic Claxton ended up going to the Chicago Bulls, while the Timberwolves landed the No. 33 pick.

Charania, NBA insider Jake Fischer, ESPN's Bobby Marks and The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski provided more context to the move:

Still, NBA fans largely saw it as a salary-dump move by the Timberwolves, which was all the more notable after Towns won a championship in New York:

To Minnesota's credit, it made the Western Conference Finals and the second round of the playoffs during Randle's two seasons. Yet it was unable to make it over the hump in a loaded Western Conference and reacted accordingly with this move.

Randle may not be a champion like Towns, but he gives the Nets an impact player who can post a double-double on any given night. He averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from deep last season.

The three-time All-Star also isn't that far removed from when he was an All-NBA selection during the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a member of the Knicks.

Perhaps joining a team in Brooklyn that doesn't have Anthony Edwards as a go-to option will allow him to post All-NBA individual production again, but he likely won't be in the middle of the championship race in Brooklyn like he was in Minnesota.