The Timberwolves are putting more of the offense in Anthony Edwards' orbit after the Julius Randle move.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Minnesota believed it could not run back the same formula after a quiet summer in 2025 and Karl-Anthony Towns' championship run in New York. Edwards wants to win now, and the Wolves are trying to build a cleaner structure around him.
That starts with redistributing Randle's usage. He averaged 15.3 shots per game, many of them coming through isolation-heavy possessions. Minnesota now expects more of those chances to flow toward Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid.
McDaniels is positioned for the biggest role change. He averaged a career-high 14.8 points while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. Barring another trade for a proven scorer, he is set to become Minnesota's No. 2 option behind Edwards.
The Wolves have reasons to believe in the jump. McDaniels showed more creation last season, and his playoff series against Denver strengthened the team's confidence.
Reid gives Minnesota a different spacing profile than Randle. He is a career 37 percent 3-point shooter, while Randle made 31 percent from deep last season. That gap matters because Rudy Gobert's lack of shooting already lets defenses crowd Edwards. Reid's shooting should make those coverages harder to load up.
There are still costs. Reid is not as strong as Randle defensively at the 4, and McDaniels has to prove that a larger role does not stretch him too thin. But Reid's minutes next to Gobert were strong, with a 106.3 defensive rating and 6.8 net rating, per NBA.com.
The trade also opens minutes for Joan Beringer and leaves Ayo Dosunmu in the young group around Edwards. The first bet is internal: McDaniels and Reid have to make the offense better suited to Edwards.
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