Former Laker Julius Randle traded from perennial contender Timberwolves to rebuilding Nets - BERITAJA

Julius Randle is headed backmost to New York, though he will beryllium playing successful a different borough this clip around.

The Brooklyn Nets acquired the 12-year seasoned aft he spent the past 2 seasons pinch the Minnesota Timberwolves, aggregate media outlets reported Monday night.

As portion of the three-team deal, Minnesota will nonstop Randle and the 28th prime successful Tuesday’s draught to Brooklyn successful speech for the Nets’ No. 33 wide pick. In addition, Brooklyn will nonstop seasoned halfway Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls. The Timberwolves will person Mo Gueye from Chicago but are expected to waive the third-year forward.

For Minnesota, the waste and acquisition creates a $33 cardinal waste and acquisition objection arsenic good arsenic financial elasticity to activity free agents to play alongside superstar Anthony Edwards. Later connected Monday, the Timberwolves came to position pinch defender Ayo Dosunmu connected a five-year, $112 cardinal woody to stay pinch the squad aft being acquired from Chicago astatine the waste and acquisition deadline.

Randle goes from a squad that won 49 games successful each of the past 2 seasons and 3 playoff bid during that agelong to 1 that won conscionable 20 games past twelvemonth and a mixed 78 complete the past 3 seasons.

The Nets, who haven’t had a typical successful the All-Star Game since Kevin Durant successful 2022, will proceed rebuilding pinch the No. 6 wide prime successful the 2026 draught to spell pinch the first-rounder they received from Minnesota.

The Lakers drafted Randle astatine No. 7 wide successful 2014, pinch his first 2 NBA seasons coinciding pinch the last 2 of Lakers fable Kobe Bryant. After becoming a free supplier successful 2018, Randle played 1 play pinch the New Orleans Pelicans earlier becoming a three-time All-Star during 5 seasons pinch the New York Knicks.

In October 2024, Randle went to Minnesota arsenic portion of the woody that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. Towns was a cardinal personnel of the Knicks squad that defeated the San Antonio Spurs successful the NBA Finals and celebrated pinch a title parade successful Lower Manhattan past week.

During the 2025 postseason, Randle shook his estimation for fading successful the playoffs, crediting his perseverance to a mentality instilled successful him galore years earlier by Bryant.

“I had a awesome mentor successful Kobe that didn’t needfully fto maine pout aliases get down connected myself,” Randle said aft scoring a profession playoff high of 31 points during a convention semifinal crippled against Golden State. “His point was always, ‘All right, what’s next? How could you get better? How could you improve?’ So I ever conscionable benignant of took that mentality pinch me.”

While Randle hasn’t publically commented connected the trade, his woman Kendra posted a video to her Instagram Story of 9-year-old boy Kyden, the oldest of their 3 children, stating that he’s “so excited” and “so happy” to beryllium returning to New York.

“@brooklynnets fans he really wanted to make this,” Kendra Randle wrote arsenic a caption to the video.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.