Yeah, I think both Julius AND Naz have had a letdown for going on multiple weeks now, with Julius perhaps even longer as you said. So 2/3rds of our Big rotation has had an extended slump. Not good.
Don't disagree with your conclusion about less overlap with Ant and Julius on the court together, but for whatever reason Finch has liked them out there together most of the time. Ant has played with Julius on the floor more than any other player paired with him. The Ant-Naz pairing is 5th for Ant.
We gotta talk about Julius
Re: We gotta talk about Julius
I don't have the numbers in front of me but a positive regression for Julius' 3 ball would be a welcome addition.
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AussieWolf3
- Posts: 645
- Joined: Thu May 29, 2025 5:11 pm
Re: We gotta talk about Julius
It just really startling to me how significant the gap is between not only his percentages when he shooting well vs not shooting well, but also just his overall play.
He really needs his 3 ball to be a highly effective player, or maybe said about a better way, to have a positive impact on the game/score. He can do other things but he is significantly less effective if he's shooting poorly, more so than you see from other plays I suspect.
Re: We gotta talk about Julius
I don't think Julius is a great fit on this team, either. But remember why he is here:
After the series loss to the Mavs, the team's biggest deficiency was the lack of a dynamic playmaker to compliment ANT. Another problem was the financial and roster-building problems that KAT's contract was about to unleash on the team. In typical TC fashion, he waited until he found what he considered the "right deal" to address those two problems, thus the KAT for Randle trade.
Extending Randle this past offseason was a no-brainer, because the Wolves could not afford to lose a player of his dollar value for nothing. We saw signs that Randle was available at the trade deadline, but it seems TC did not find the "right deal" (maybe there were none to be had?). But I expect Randle will be moved this offseason for a number of reasons besides the reasons this past trade deadline: Having a player option in 2028-29, he will only be under team control for next season. Others on the team have come a long ways with their playmaking skills -- a primary reason Randle was targeted in the first place. Another reason is the Wolves as currently structured are destined for the "repeater tax" next season, but unloading Randle for less $s in return could fix that problem. It would also make room for Joan and/or Rocco to play, along with retaining SloMo.
Any way, the team has made their bed for this season. But even if they win a championship, I think there is a high probability that Randle will be moved this offseason.
After the series loss to the Mavs, the team's biggest deficiency was the lack of a dynamic playmaker to compliment ANT. Another problem was the financial and roster-building problems that KAT's contract was about to unleash on the team. In typical TC fashion, he waited until he found what he considered the "right deal" to address those two problems, thus the KAT for Randle trade.
Extending Randle this past offseason was a no-brainer, because the Wolves could not afford to lose a player of his dollar value for nothing. We saw signs that Randle was available at the trade deadline, but it seems TC did not find the "right deal" (maybe there were none to be had?). But I expect Randle will be moved this offseason for a number of reasons besides the reasons this past trade deadline: Having a player option in 2028-29, he will only be under team control for next season. Others on the team have come a long ways with their playmaking skills -- a primary reason Randle was targeted in the first place. Another reason is the Wolves as currently structured are destined for the "repeater tax" next season, but unloading Randle for less $s in return could fix that problem. It would also make room for Joan and/or Rocco to play, along with retaining SloMo.
Any way, the team has made their bed for this season. But even if they win a championship, I think there is a high probability that Randle will be moved this offseason.