Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (shoulder) won't suit up for Sunday's preseason matchup against the New York Knicks. It would be nice to see Randle get into action against his former team, but it won't happen here. Randle is still recovering from surgery on his shoulder from January. His timetable remains unclear, but the hope is that Randle is ready to go by the beginning of the regular season. In the meantime, Naz Reid will see a boost in fantasy value. Reid is expected to come off the bench this season, but proven himself to be a viable option in that role.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward/center Naz Reid will remain a bench piece in 2024-25. The 25-year-old was voted the NBA Sixth Man of the Year last season and will continue to roll with the second unit behind starting big men Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle (shoulder). Reid notched 13.5 points with 5.2 rebounds in 24.2 minutes last season, boosting his numbers to 17.6 points and 7.0 boards in 14 games as a starter. He will likely see him as a starter again at some point this season, considering Randle's injury history -- he has averaged 64 games per season during his 10-year NBA career.

Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Julius Randle (shoulder) will remain a starter on his new team. Randle hasn't come off the bench since the 2018-19 campaign, and Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has now confirmed that the veteran will continue to start in Minnesota. Randle has been an All-Star in back-to-back campaigns, so it would have been quite a shock if he had landed on the bench with the Timberwolves, although Naz Reid offers a good alternative to Finch. Assuming he stays healthy, fantasy managers should get another productive campaign out of Randle. He averaged 24.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists last season.

New York Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo won't be able to play with the full Villanova squad this season as he was part of a trade package to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that DiVincenzo, along with Julius Randle and a first-round pick, are being traded to the Timberwolves in return for star big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Reportedly, neither side of the trade requested a move, which is important to note as Towns has played all nine seasons of his career for Minnesota. DiVincenzo, on the other hand, came off of his best season yet as he averaged 15.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 44.3% from the floor and 40.1% from beyond the arc. He proved to be an important and talented role player while seeing a changing role with the team that went from sixth man to starting guard. Now, he'll look to continue that supporting guard role alongside Anthony Edwards in the Timberwolves' quest to make another deep playoff run.

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle will head back to the Western Conference as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal that included Karl-Anthony Towns. As reported by Shams Charania, the three-time All-Star has been traded along with Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for star big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Randle missed most of last season with a shoulder injury and the Knicks went on to have an explosive playoff run that ended ultimately due to more injury issues. It seemed like Randle was primed to play some more minutes at center since Mitchell Robinson (foot) would still be on the mend, but instead, he'll now play alongside Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards. In 46 games last year, Randle averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game with shooting splits of .472/.311/.781.