Julius Randle

[KiwiMatt]

I just see no way forward for this team keeping Julius Randle. Whether you like him as a player or not is irrelevant. The finances don't work, unless you want to see Naz and/or NAW gone.

Finch is saying all the right things about Julius and his 'fit'. But behind the scene TC will be working the phones.

[Lipoli390]

Once Julius opts in he would be under a one year expiring contract. He would be very tradeable. The question is if they could dump him before June 30 to avoid the 2nd apron repeater penalties. Most likely it would be a few weeks into the summer when a team like BKN has nothing going for them and can absorb the contract.

Under League rules, if Randle isn’t traded by the February deadline he can’t be traded in the off season except as part of a sign-and-trade after July 30. Because the Wolves are over the 2nd apron they won’t be able to sign-and-trade Julius. Once Randle opts in, the Wolves won’t be able to trade him until Dec. 15.

I agree that Randle might have more trade value as an expiring contract, but he’ll also have more value to us as an expiring contract given how bloated our payroll will continue to be. If we trade Randle next winter (after Dec. 15) we’ll have to take salary back, which would undercut the payroll relief we would want from trading him. Perhaps we could trade him for expiring contracts and picks, but that’s uncertain. Meanwhile, we will have delayed the transition to a mix of talent more aligned with our star (Ant) and Rudy. There’s also a risk that we won’t be able to keep Naz and get below the second apron if Randle opts in. The cap might not go up by the full 10% and Naz might have suitors around the League willing to pay him more than we can pay without staying over the 2nd apron.

If you conclude that this team can’t be a sustainable title contender with the mix of Ant, Rudy and Randle, then Randle should be moved by the deadline if possible. As I noted, I wouldn’t be willing to give up any future 1st round picks, including the Detoit pick, or the Utah 2nd round pick we have this year to trade Randle. So if we can’t trade Randle for significant salary relief without giving up those sorts of draft picks, then the next best thing would be making it clear to Randle that if he opts in he won’t be a starter, which might prompt him to forgo the opt in. If he still opts in, then we have to hope we can still re-sign Naz and get under the 2nd apron. Maybe we could then trade him after December 15. Otherwise, we just wait for his contract to expire and get as much out of him in a backup role as we can.

[Phenom]

If there was any partial or non guarantees next year he could be traded for them as well but I'm not getting into the weeds looking for those. The safest bet is to trade him or NAW in the next few weeks.

[Lipoli390]

If there was any partial or non guarantees next year he could be traded for them as well but I'm not getting into the weeds looking for those. The safest bet is to trade him or NAW in the next few weeks.

Yep. I would think we could get a couple 2nds at least or maybe a lottery-protected 1st for NAW. That seems like the easy one. Trading Randle by the deadline for cap relief without giving up future picks will be a tough one. But I wouldn’t say it can’t happen. Randle is a very good player and not yet on the downslope of his career. So it’s not like we’d be asking a team to take an unproductive player, bad seed or declining elder statesman. The issue with Randle for us is his poor fit.

[Phenom]

Once Julius opts in he would be under a one year expiring contract. He would be very tradeable. The question is if they could dump him before June 30 to avoid the 2nd apron repeater penalties. Most likely it would be a few weeks into the summer when a team like BKN has nothing going for them and can absorb the contract.

Under League rules, if Randle isn’t traded by the February deadline he can’t be traded in the off season except as part of a sign-and-trade after July 30. Because the Wolves are over the 2nd apron they won’t be able to sign-and-trade Julius. Once Randle opts in, the Wolves won’t be able to trade him until Dec. 15.

I agree that Randle might have more trade value as an expiring contract, but he’ll also have more value to us as an expiring contract given how bloated our payroll will continue to be. If we trade Randle next winter (after Dec. 15) we’ll have to take salary back, which would undercut the payroll relief we would want from trading him. Perhaps we could trade him for expiring contracts and picks, but that’s uncertain. Meanwhile, we will have delayed the transition to a mix of talent more aligned with our star (Ant) and Rudy. There’s also a risk that we won’t be able to keep Naz and get below the second apron if Randle opts in. The cap might not go up by the full 10% and Naz might have suitors around the League willing to pay him more than we can pay without staying over the 2nd apron.

If you conclude that this team can’t be a sustainable title contender with the mix of Ant, Rudy and Randle, then Randle should be moved by the deadline if possible. As I noted, I wouldn’t be willing to give up any future 1st round picks, including the Detoit pick, or the Utah 2nd round pick we have this year to trade Randle. So if we can’t trade Randle for significant salary relief without giving up those sorts of draft picks, then the next best thing would be making it clear to Randle that if he opts in he won’t be a starter, which might prompt him to forgo the opt in. If he still opts in, then we have to hope we can still re-sign Naz and get under the 2nd apron. Maybe we could then trade him after December 15. Otherwise, we just wait for his contract to expire and get as much out of him in a backup role as we can.

Julius couldn't be signed and traded this summer unless he declined his option (if the Wolves were allowed to complete a sign and trade by somehow getting below the second apron beforehand)

I'm referring to if he picks up his option at the end of this season. The Wolves could then trade him in, say July or August before all teams use up their room. The acquiring team would then have him on a 1 year deal for his option number. Depending on the team, they could take him back for no returning salary. The December 15 rule is for new contracts.

[Monster]

Let's say worst case scanario and this summer Randle opts in and the Wolves decide they hate his guts he sucks and nobody else wants him. It's not an option I like but they could simply move on from him by waiving him maybe he woukd take at least a small cut to save some salalry and they could waive and stretch him of they REALLY needed that space this coming season. This has like a 2% chance of happening because I don't see Randle's situation with the Wolves going that south or his value around the league unless he was injured.

My point in bringing this up is while I'm a bit of a Randle fan I absolutely see the point in moving on from him to prioritize keeping other players and maybe even having flexibility to sign someone else.

There have been reports that the Wolves are interested in getting in on the Butler deal. Randle makes a lot of sense with his salary. However it's also possible to make that Butler deal work there could be like 7 teams or something with a bunch of players/contracts moving around to make it happen and some teams will think they had a benefit. Maybe NAW ends up being one of those guys in a deal and the Wolves landing a draft pick for him and maybe they get some guy back they think can be useful in the meantime. Or they could go sign a vet that's available.

[Monster]

Let's say worst case scanario and this summer Randle opts in and the Wolves decide they hate his guts he sucks and nobody else wants him. It's not an option I like but they could simply move on from him by waiving and stretching his salary maybe he would take at least a small cut to save some salalry and they could waive and stretch him of they REALLY needed that space this coming season. This has like a 2% chance of happening because I don't see Randle's situation with the Wolves going that south or his value around the league unless he was injured.

My point in bringing this up is while I'm a bit of a Randle fan I absolutely see the point in moving on from him to prioritize keeping other players and maybe even having flexibility to sign someone else.

There have been reports that the Wolves are interested in getting in on the Butler deal. Randle makes a lot of sense with his salary. However it's also possible to make that Butler deal work there could be like 7 teams or something with a bunch of players/contracts moving around to make it happen and some teams will think they had a benefit. Maybe NAW ends up being one of those guys in a deal and the Wolves landing a draft pick for him and maybe they get some guy back they think can be useful in the meantime. Or they could go sign a vet that's available.

I suppose the Wolves could also waive and stretch Conley too.

[Q-is-here]

If there was any partial or non guarantees next year he could be traded for them as well but I'm not getting into the weeds looking for those. The safest bet is to trade him or NAW in the next few weeks.

Yep. I would think we could get a couple 2nds at least or maybe a lottery-protected 1st for NAW. That seems like the easy one. Trading Randle by the deadline for cap relief without giving up future picks will be a tough one. But I wouldn’t say it can’t happen. Randle is a very good player and not yet on the downslope of his career. So it’s not like we’d be asking a team to take an unproductive player, bad seed or declining elder statesman. The issue with Randle for us is his poor fit.

I think Randle is a tough fit for a lot of teams in that he's sort of in no-man's land as a player/contract. He isn't good enough to be a #1 or #2 on a contender, but he's probably too expensive to be a #3 or bench scorer.

I will say Miami seems like the one environment where he could actually make some sense, as they could use some scoring punch to replace Butler. Although not sure he's cut out for "Heat Culture".

[Lipoli390]

Let's say worst case scanario and this summer Randle opts in and the Wolves decide they hate his guts he sucks and nobody else wants him. It's not an option I like but they could simply move on from him by waiving and stretching his salary maybe he would take at least a small cut to save some salalry and they could waive and stretch him of they REALLY needed that space this coming season. This has like a 2% chance of happening because I don't see Randle's situation with the Wolves going that south or his value around the league unless he was injured.

My point in bringing this up is while I'm a bit of a Randle fan I absolutely see the point in moving on from him to prioritize keeping other players and maybe even having flexibility to sign someone else.

There have been reports that the Wolves are interested in getting in on the Butler deal. Randle makes a lot of sense with his salary. However it's also possible to make that Butler deal work there could be like 7 teams or something with a bunch of players/contracts moving around to make it happen and some teams will think they had a benefit. Maybe NAW ends up being one of those guys in a deal and the Wolves landing a draft pick for him and maybe they get some guy back they think can be useful in the meantime. Or they could go sign a vet that's available.

I suppose the Wolves could also waive and stretch Conley too.

I don’t think teams over the 2nd apron are allowed to waive or buy out players.

[kekgeek]

Let's say worst case scanario and this summer Randle opts in and the Wolves decide they hate his guts he sucks and nobody else wants him. It's not an option I like but they could simply move on from him by waiving and stretching his salary maybe he would take at least a small cut to save some salalry and they could waive and stretch him of they REALLY needed that space this coming season. This has like a 2% chance of happening because I don't see Randle's situation with the Wolves going that south or his value around the league unless he was injured.

My point in bringing this up is while I'm a bit of a Randle fan I absolutely see the point in moving on from him to prioritize keeping other players and maybe even having flexibility to sign someone else.

There have been reports that the Wolves are interested in getting in on the Butler deal. Randle makes a lot of sense with his salary. However it's also possible to make that Butler deal work there could be like 7 teams or something with a bunch of players/contracts moving around to make it happen and some teams will think they had a benefit. Maybe NAW ends up being one of those guys in a deal and the Wolves landing a draft pick for him and maybe they get some guy back they think can be useful in the meantime. Or they could go sign a vet that's available.

I suppose the Wolves could also waive and stretch Conley too.

I don’t think teams over the 2nd apron are allowed to waive or buy out players.

You can for sure waive players. The wolves have already PJ Dozier. They can use the buyout market also but can’t add a player whose contract is more than the MLE.