Will Julius Randle fit in on this Wolves team?
My biggest point of concern for Randle is how he fits in to the Wolves offense, particularly the starting unit. Let’s start with the worst part of the Wolves offense: Rudy Gobert. To get a peek into how Randle might fit next to Gobert, I looked into how Randle has played with other big men in the past. What I saw made me surprisingly optimistic. For example, Randle led the Knicks in assists to big man Mitchell Robinson last season—yes, Robinson was injured for a good chunk of the season, but I still think it can be viewed as a piece of evidence that Randle can distribute to the center position. And Robinson is a good comparator for Gobert, given his offensive challenges. Of course, it would be a huge boost to the Wolves if Gobert was able to consistently grab an alley-oop and flush it through the hoop (something he struggles with, despite the fact that the hoop is always within spitting distance of his face).
Another question is how Randle’s slow, iso-ball style will fit in on this Wolves offense. The ball did become pretty sticky for the Wolves last season, particularly down the stretch (think back to the fourth quarters in the Denver series, in particular) and specifically in Anthony Edward’s hands. Although some of this can be cleaned (and coached) up, there is a certain level of dribbling and deliberating that comes with a scorer of Edwards’s caliber. It gets harder when there are two such players on a team. The Wolves have been spoiled by Karl-Anthony Town’s hyper-efficient, relatively low usage-rate offense. Randle is not that sort of player. Look to see Coach Chris Finch try to stagger the Edwards and Randle minutes so that one of the two is always on the floor. It is promising that Randle was productive even as Knick’s star Jalen Brunson—who demands plenty of touches—took over the role of top scorer for the Knick’s in the last two seasons.
What I am not worried about is Randle getting his points. It seems as though many sports critics have forgotten that Randle is a consistent 20 and 10 type of player. For anyone who hasn’t spent a lot of time watching Randle in New York, the guy is a pure scorer. At times, his combination of strength and touch around the hoop, paired with the quickness to beat any defender that is big enough to body him off the dribble, can appear unstoppable. When Gobert is on the floor with Randle, Gobert will often draw the other team’s big (with exceptions for Jokic, Embiid, etc. who prefer to guard a smaller player and play help-defense). Look for Randle to fest on undersized power forwards.
Additionally, Randle brings a level of rebounding that surpasses what the Wolves have lost in Towns, despite being a few inches shorter. Further, Randle is a capable defender who has the ability to guard multiple positions. Make no mistake, however, Randle was brought to Minnesota for his offensive abilities, rather than his abilities on defense. And given the number of highly-skilled defenders on this team, Randle’s averageness on that end should not stand out.
Randle’s shooting from outside is streaky. He certainly is comfortable shooting the three-ball and the mid-range, and has spurts where he is highly effective at it. But he does not demand the same level of defensive pressure that Towns did. Although there is some reason to worry about the spacing for this Wolves team, I believe that the addition of one of the top shooters in the league, Donte DiVincenzo, another highly capable marksmen in Joe Ingles, and rookie sharpshooter Rob Dillingham will more than make up for any reduction in outside shooting. It will be up to Coach Chris Finch, however, to figure out the right combination of players to keep the floor spaced and a good amount of shooting on the court at all times.
The NBA season is long, and successful teams are typically able to lean on different players to step up and lead the way in scoring during different stretches of the season. Even within a game, teams need a scorer to anchor the bench minutes or periods where the top scorer is taking a break. Last season, the Wolves were lacking in this department (save for Naz Reid, of course). The bench rotation of Kyle Anderson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid, Monte Morris, and a spare starter often looked stagnant and lost on offense. Randle has the unquestioned ability to be this player, and Wolves fans should be excited to watch Randle dominate in the paint.