Minnesota Sports Forum

guest81 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2026 8:51 pm

Phenom wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2026 8:29 pm I still consider Julius for Ja the backstop deal for both teams. The question might become, would you rather keep Julius?

Randle is a better player then Ja at this point. Griz would have to throw something in

The salaries become tricky is the problem.

Phenom wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2026 8:29 pm I still consider Julius for Ja the backstop deal for both teams. The question might become, would you rather keep Julius?

There would be less tolerance for Ja's shortcomings than Randle's which makes it easier to deal with Ja.

Ja will turn 27 during the season. He was an elite offensive player only a few years ago and if I were convinced he’d return to that elite form I’d be interesting in possibly acquiring him. But there are two glaring problems. First, we don’t know if he’ll regain his old form, and it’s not even clear why his performance has fallen off the last couple seasons, which makes it hard to speculate on the odds of him returning to his prior form. Second, he has questionable durability, averaging 51.4 games per season in his career, excluding the season he missed because of his torn labrum and the season in which he missed games because of his suspension. The good news is that he’s never had a major leg injury that might slow him down or take some leg lift from his shot. The bad news is that he tends to miss a lot of games with an assortment of pretty minor nagging injuries.

My view is that you simply cannot and should not bank on a player who has an extended track record of dubious durability. Ja falls into that category although at least he’s still young and has never had a major leg injury. Others who fall into that category are Kyrie Irving who averaged 47.5 games in the 8 seasons before last season when he missed all 82 games with an Achilles tear. Kyrie is also 34 years old and will turn 35 before the end of next season. He’s such an obvious “stay away” guy. Kawhi Leonard played 65 games last season and 37 the season before that one. In the 8 seasons before than he averaged 54.3 games even excluding the 2021-22 season when he played no games and 2017-18 when he played o boy 9 games. He turns 35 at the end of this month. He’s another obviously stay away player. Finally, there’s Giannis. Unlike Kyrie and Kawhi, Giannis hasn’t crossed into his mid-30s yet, but I fear he’s an old 31/32 year old given how he plays. He only played 36 games last season and 67 the season before that one. In the preceding 6 seasons he averaged 65.6 games. That’s not terrible, but you have to take all this into consideration when exploring the possibility of acquiring Giannis - especially given what the Wolves would have to give up to get him.

I believe I've read ja hasn't played 7 games in a row since the 2022 season

guest81 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 7:16 am I believe I've read ja hasn't played 7 games in a row since the 2022 season

Wow that's impressive...

With the Wolves award winning medical team I think they can get that number up to 8 or 9 games in a row. Let's get him!!!!

I think I'd need 3 non or very lightly protected first rounders + Ja for Ju and DDV.

Then just gamble that he turns it all around which I think is very slim.

Not sure why Memphis would do that though, they need picks more then us.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 11:32 am I think I'd need 3 non or very lightly protected first rounders + Ja for Ju and DDV.

Then just gamble that he turns it all around which I think is very slim.

Not sure why Memphis would do that though, they need picks more then us.

We don’t have a ton of picks, having the assets alone would change the landscape dramatically.
Of any team in the league we have the least incoming future first round picks (tied with the nuggets, knicks and suns). Two of those picks are vulnerable to a pick swap.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 11:32 am I think I'd need 3 non or very lightly protected first rounders + Ja for Ju and DDV.

Then just gamble that he turns it all around which I think is very slim.

Not sure why Memphis would do that though, they need picks more then us.

if they're drafting Boozer, they have absolutely no use for Randle at all.

He's simply running out of places that would start him.

Let's look at the list and chop it down:

Atlanta- Jalen Johnson
Boston- Tatum
Brooklyn- Clowney, so there's an opening
Charlotte- Bridges
Chicago- Buzelis
Cleveland- Mobley
Dallas- PJ Washington, possible opening
Denver- Gordon
Detroit- big void if Tobias Harris walks
Golden State- Green
Houston- Jabari Smith
Indiana- Siakam
LAC- Collins, though I think he can walk this summer
LAL- Hachimura, who is a free agent
Memphis- will likely draft Boozer, if not, big opening
Miami- they play really small, so if they want a bigger PF, opening
Milwaukee- some Greek guy named Giannis, but he'll be gone soon
New Orleans- Zion
New York- OG
OKC- Chet
Orlando- Banchero
Philadelphia- George
Phoenix- Brooks and they wanna use more Fleming
Portland- Camara
Sacramento- Murray
San Antonio- Vassell and eventually Bryant
Toronto- Barnes
Utah- Markkanen
Washington- Sarr

so it's down to Brooklyn, Dallas, LAC, LAL, Miami, Milwaukee and possibly Memphis

and that's before we factor in direction, whether it works with the cap, what the asking price is.

Randle is such a tough person to place and I feel like once Giannis is outta the picture, they'll go back to glazing Randle and hope on something that never happens: "player starts playing better, then gets traded"

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2026 4:20 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 11:32 am I think I'd need 3 non or very lightly protected first rounders + Ja for Ju and DDV.

Then just gamble that he turns it all around which I think is very slim.

Not sure why Memphis would do that though, they need picks more then us.

if they're drafting Boozer, they have absolutely no use for Randle at all.

He's simply running out of places that would start him.

Let's look at the list and chop it down:

Atlanta- Jalen Johnson
Boston- Tatum
Brooklyn- Clowney, so there's an opening
Charlotte- Bridges
Chicago- Buzelis
Cleveland- Mobley
Dallas- PJ Washington, possible opening
Denver- Gordon
Detroit- big void if Tobias Harris walks
Golden State- Green
Houston- Jabari Smith
Indiana- Siakam
LAC- Collins, though I think he can walk this summer
LAL- Hachimura, who is a free agent
Memphis- will likely draft Boozer, if not, big opening
Miami- they play really small, so if they want a bigger PF, opening
Milwaukee- some Greek guy named Giannis, but he'll be gone soon
New Orleans- Zion
New York- OG
OKC- Chet
Orlando- Banchero
Philadelphia- George
Phoenix- Brooks and they wanna use more Fleming
Portland- Camara
Sacramento- Murray
San Antonio- Vassell and eventually Bryant
Toronto- Barnes
Utah- Markkanen
Washington- Sarr

so it's down to Brooklyn, Dallas, LAC, LAL, Miami, Milwaukee and possibly Memphis

and that's before we factor in direction, whether it works with the cap, what the asking price is.

Randle is such a tough person to place and I feel like once Giannis is outta the picture, they'll go back to glazing Randle and hope on something that never happens: "player starts playing better, then gets traded"

Tatum is at least as much a SF as PF, probably more of a SF. Bridges also plays both forward positions. Randle would be a major upgrade over Harris for Detroit. Miami definitely has a PF slot to fill that Randle would fit perfectly if they don’t get Giannis. The Bulls will likely draft a PF but if they want to be competitive right away, which they’ll have a strong incentive to do given the new lottery rules, they would definitely benefit from Randle over any of their existing PFs. I see Buzelis as a SF as much as he is a PF. Portland wants to win right away and Randle would help them. While guys like Tatum and George as scorers, there’s nothing wrong with adding another high usage scorer. Randle and Ant went to the Conference finals together.

So I think the list of potential suitors includes:
1. Detroit
2. Miami (if they don’t get Giannis)
3. Boston (if they don’t get Giannis)
4. Portland (if they don’t get Giannis. I consider Portland the leading dark horse candidate to end up with Giannis)
5. Sixers (I see Paul George as a SG/SF)
6. Brooklyn
7. Dallas
8. LAC
9. LAL
10. Milwaukee (if they trade Giannis)
11. Maybe Memphis

That strikes me as a big enough universe to find a decent deal for Randle. He stays on the court and puts up big offensive numbers. He has playoff seasoning, is still in his prime and doesn’t bring any off-court baggage. He also has a reasonable contract. I’m not suggesting he’s widely coveted and our expectations for the return we can get should be measured. But I don’t see him as a guy who will be particularly hard to trade or who won’t bring a decent return.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2026 5:11 pm

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2026 4:20 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 11:32 am I think I'd need 3 non or very lightly protected first rounders + Ja for Ju and DDV.

Then just gamble that he turns it all around which I think is very slim.

Not sure why Memphis would do that though, they need picks more then us.

if they're drafting Boozer, they have absolutely no use for Randle at all.

He's simply running out of places that would start him.

Let's look at the list and chop it down:

Atlanta- Jalen Johnson
Boston- Tatum
Brooklyn- Clowney, so there's an opening
Charlotte- Bridges
Chicago- Buzelis
Cleveland- Mobley
Dallas- PJ Washington, possible opening
Denver- Gordon
Detroit- big void if Tobias Harris walks
Golden State- Green
Houston- Jabari Smith
Indiana- Siakam
LAC- Collins, though I think he can walk this summer
LAL- Hachimura, who is a free agent
Memphis- will likely draft Boozer, if not, big opening
Miami- they play really small, so if they want a bigger PF, opening
Milwaukee- some Greek guy named Giannis, but he'll be gone soon
New Orleans- Zion
New York- OG
OKC- Chet
Orlando- Banchero
Philadelphia- George
Phoenix- Brooks and they wanna use more Fleming
Portland- Camara
Sacramento- Murray
San Antonio- Vassell and eventually Bryant
Toronto- Barnes
Utah- Markkanen
Washington- Sarr

so it's down to Brooklyn, Dallas, LAC, LAL, Miami, Milwaukee and possibly Memphis

and that's before we factor in direction, whether it works with the cap, what the asking price is.

Randle is such a tough person to place and I feel like once Giannis is outta the picture, they'll go back to glazing Randle and hope on something that never happens: "player starts playing better, then gets traded"

Tatum is at least as much a SF as PF, probably more of a SF. Bridges also plays both forward positions. Randle would be a major upgrade over Harris for Detroit. Miami definitely has a PF slot to fill that Randle would fit perfectly if they don’t get Giannis. The Bulls will likely draft a PF but if they want to be competitive right away, which they’ll have a strong incentive to do given the new lottery rules, they would definitely benefit from Randle over any of their existing PFs. I see Buzelis as a SF as much as he is a PF. Portland wants to win right away and Randle would help them. While guys like Tatum and George as scorers, there’s nothing wrong with adding another high usage scorer. Randle and Ant went to the Conference finals together.

So I think the list of potential suitors includes:
1. Detroit
2. Miami (if they don’t get Giannis)
3. Boston (if they don’t get Giannis)
4. Portland (if they don’t get Giannis. I consider Portland the leading dark horse candidate to end up with Giannis)
5. Sixers (I see Paul George as a SG/SF)
6. Brooklyn
7. Dallas
8. LAC
9. LAL
10. Milwaukee (if they trade Giannis)
11. Maybe Memphis

That strikes me as a big enough universe to find a decent deal for Randle. He stays on the court and puts up big offensive numbers. He has playoff seasoning, is still in his prime and doesn’t bring any off-court baggage. He also has a reasonable contract. I’m not suggesting he’s widely coveted and our expectations for the return we can get should be measured. But I don’t see him as a guy who will be particularly hard to trade or who won’t bring a decent return.

I've read somewhere Charlotte might be interested in moving their guys up a spot by adding a PF so Randle MIGHT be an option there. There are various players that could be dealt that may open up a spot where Randle suddenly makes more sense.

What we don't know because Randle never went fully into FA is what market Randle had last off-season but my guess is there were a couple teams that were interested in adding him. I'd guess we may know soon enough. There was always a team looking for a productive player like him and that was before the new lottery rules etc.