A new rumor claims that before Julius Randle was shipped off to Minnesota this week, the Miami Heat were among a trio of teams the Knicks spoke to about a potential trade for the All-Star.
We are just days away from the start of NBA training camps. But the quiet until then was shattered on Friday night when it was reported that the Knicks were trading All-Star forward Julius Randle to the Timberwolves for fellow All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns.
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Both Towns and Randle had been linked to trades since last year. However, both being core members of elite teams seemed to diminish the chance of moves actually happening. For the most part, the Minnesota great had been at the center of Knicks trade speculation for quite some time. However, if Randle ever was moved, where he ended up was anyone’s guess.
But some clarity was brought to that debate on Friday. Following the blockbuster Karl-Anthony Towns trade, SNY NBA insider Ian Begley dropped an interesting nugget of news about other trade talks the Knicks had about Randle.
Julius Randle stats (2023-24): 24.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 31% 3PT
Miami Heat had talks with the New York Knicks about a Julius Randle trade
“Detroit, Atlanta, and Miami [were] among the other teams NYK talked to about trades of Julius Randle, per SNY sources,” Begley wrote in a post on X. “MIN slashes its future payroll by acquiring Randle, who can be an FA this summer. Knicks get big man they’ve long had on [their] radar in Karl Towns.”
Randle would have been a very interesting addition to all of those teams. The Miami Heat have been fairly quiet this summer. But the talented forward would have given them the extra scorer they badly needed last season. However, what the Knicks would have wanted back in a deal is unclear.
As for the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks, Randle would have likely been the return package in a trade for centers Jalen Duran and Clint Capela.
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