The Miami Heat’s front office reportedly picked up the phone earlier in the offseason with interest in All-Star big man Julius Randle.
Just because Randle was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in late September does not mean another move is out of the equation. The 29-year-old poses serious concerns to the Wolves’ offense, including his ball dominance, and he is not an elite spacing forward like Karl-Anthony Towns. Randle knocked down 31.1 percent of his three-pointers last season compared to Towns’ 41.6 percent.
Bleacher Report believes the Heat could revisit discussions surrounding Randle if Minnesota is interested in trading him. The trade proposal sends Randle to the Heat in exchange for Nikola Jovic, Terry Rozier, and Thomas Bryant.
“Randle is pretty clearly the best individual player in this deal,” B/R’s Andy Bailey wrote. “For that reason, you might be able to talk Miami into including some draft compensation, too. But Nikola Jović checks the box for a young prospect while being able to start alongside [Anthony] Edwards and [Rudy] Gobert right now.”
The Timberwolves are focused on prolonging their championship window with Edwards at the helm. Jovic accomplishes just that at age 21. He proved himself as a valuable piece of the Heat’s rotation last year, meaning it could take some persuading for team president Pat Riley to part ways with him.
Adding Randle to the Heat’s Big Three of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro would place any postseason opponent on upset alert.