Three-time All-Star Julius Randle is headed from Minnesota to Brooklyn in a three-team trade that will see center Nic Claxton move on to Chicago and the Timberwolves open up a lot of cap space.
Here are the details of the three-team trade first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN:
Brooklyn gets: Julius Randle, No. 28 pick in 2026 NBA Draft
Chicago gets: Nic Claxton
Minnesota gets: Mo Gueye, No. 33 pick in 2026 NBA Draft
For Minnesota, this is a salary dump — the Timberwolves save roughly $36 million in salary (and that puts them $42 million below the luxury tax line).
Which was enough cap space for them to re-sign point guard Ayo Dosunmu to a five-year, $112 million contract, with a player option in the final season, something also reported by Shams Charania. Minnesota still has enough room to use the full mid-level exception to bring in another player.
However, it’s a risk on the court — and a win for talent-starved Brooklyn. Randle averaged 21.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5 assists per game last season and was a key running mate with Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves will move Naz Reid into the starting spot and ask him to fill those shoes, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
This is a good trade for a Brooklyn team that needs a talent upgrade. The 20-win Nets had the third-worst record in the East last season, they know the teams behind them (Indiana and Washington) are about to get a whole lot better, and they know that the teams with the three worst records next season actually have worse lottery odds under the new system. So they are upgrading their talent, adding Randle raises Brooklyn’s floor.
Chicago needed to bring in a center after trading away Nikola Vucevic at the deadline and with Zach Collins as a free agent. Claxton is a solid two-way center who averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season, plus 1.1 blocks per game. He will fit nicely into the lineup playing off Josh Giddey.
