Spurs just broke the West for a second time after desperate Julius Randle trade

Julius Randle was just traded to purgatory—I mean, Brooklyn, and it's all Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs' fault. Mark June 22nd down as the night when The Alien claimed his first victim. Randle is now a roster casualty, as Minnesota has clearly decided that his performance in the second round was unacceptable and not something they'll bank on him turning around next time.

Randle only played two seasons for the Timberwolves after being traded from New York before the season in October 2024. Minny hoped the Dallas native would be the co-star Anthony Edwards needed to take the team to the level and finally win their franchise a championship. Those hopes were dashed in the most glaring way possible against San Antonio, and now, Julius will be joining his fifth NBA team.

This is just confirmation of what we already know. Teams are worried about how they'll deal with Wembanyama. He's not an easy solve, and he's only going to get better. Randle is actually the second major Western Conference victim of the Spurs' rise. They also slammed the door shut on OKC's dynasty talks. Disruption can show up in a variety of ways, and we're seeing that play out now.

The Spurs are the new team to beat out West

According to DraftKings, the Silver and Black are the favorites (+250) to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy next year. The oddsmakers aren't the only ones who recognize San Antonio's strengths, though. Just look at what they did to Randle. The former Lakers forward averaged 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in the regular season but could only manage 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists against the Spurs.

It wasn't just a bad shooting series, either. His style of play just didn't fit with what they needed. Wemby was the direct cause of that because what they needed was someone who could find a way to score points, get Vic in foul trouble, or disrupt him on the other end. Randle couldn't really do any of that.

And since the Timberwolves aren't expecting Wembanyama to go anywhere, they had to move Randle. It was the smart thing to do, and the fact that they made that deal without receiving much back is an indication of how strongly they felt it necessary to do so. They can now slot Naz Reid into the starting lineup, opening up the floor. That's the first step in attacking SA's defense.

The trade opens up cap space for the Timberwolves to make another move. It's unclear what direction they're heading, but you can bet they'll be steering toward whatever they believe will help them climb over the Spurs—something they currently don't have the facilities for.

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