For the 2024/25 season of the NBA, Julius Randle began a new chapter with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The player was traded from the New York Knicks in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. Over half a year later, Randle still bitterly remembers his departure from the Knicks. "It was crap," the player stated in comments recorded by the New York Post.

Just a month into the offseason, though, that dominant core took a massive change. Two months later, that strong core had all but disappeared.