For much of the season thus far, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been associated with trade rumors.
After completing a risky Karl-Anthony Towns trade prior to the season, the team has been struggling to find chemistry. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have been thriving as one of the hottest teams in the East with Towns.
The first to receive the blame for the chemistry woes were new acquisitions Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Bringing them in from the Towns trade has created tons of controversy within the media. Trade rumors have been circulating around both players for the past month or so.
At this very moment, things seem to be trending in a positive direction for both the Wolves and Randle. Minnesota is on a three-game winning streak and continues to climb the standings in the West. In addition to that, Randle just received an honor this week that should put the trade rumors to bed for at least a little while.
Although he didn’t win Conference Player of the Week, it is tremendous progress for Randle to be a nominee. Over the past week, the Wolves played four games. In those four games, Randle averaged 21.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and shot 48 percent. Most importantly, his elevated play helped lead Minnesota to a 3-1 record this past week.
With Randle being involved in trade rumors, his performance this past week makes things very interesting. Does his performance over the past week put the rumors to bed for good? Or does it improve his trade value even more? It was a great week, but overall, he has struggled to fit in with Minnesota’s core group. This is the first week he has been able to produce consistently.
While the verdict is still out, for now the Wolves can enjoy this nice run they’ve been on and keep pushing for the playoffs in the New Year.
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