Kenny Smith Expresses Concern Over the Minnesota Timberwolves' Trade For Julius Randle

Kenny Smith is unsure whether the Minnesota Timberwolves would be better off with Julius Randle rather than Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Timberwolves – who advanced to the Western Conference Finals last season – made a surprise trade before the start of the season, unloading the four-time All-Star big man to the New York Knicks in exchange for Randle and shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo.  

The move was surprising, considering the Timberwolves had the best defense in the NBA last season with their twin towers big man duo of Towns and Rudy Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year. That's not even mentioning rising star Anthony Edwards, who has drawn comparisons to Michael Jordan.

Minnesota struggled with its new-look lineup in a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Randle posted a solid game with 16 points, nine rebounds, and a +2 plus/minus rating. However, it wasn't enough, as the Timberwolves lost 110-103 and never led after the first quarter.

Before the game, Smith expressed his concern over the move for Randle.

"I'm not sure how it's going to work out with Randle in Minnesota," says Smith in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of his partnership with FanDuel. "It feels very parallel. They got to the Western Conference Finals. I feel it's parallel at best. I don't know if it takes them over the top."

The Timberwolves finished with the third seed in the West last season with a 56-26 record – the second-best record in franchise history – and knocked off the defending champion Denver Nuggets in a semifinal upset. However, Smith believes they need to make another addition to surpass their success from last season.

"I think they have to make another addition to do that," says Smith on improving from last season. "They become a different type of team because KAT did shoot the 3 and he spaced the floor differently than Julius will do."

While the trade to unload Towns was a surprising move from a personnel standpoint, it wasn't from a salary cap standpoint. With the NBA stricter on luxury tax penalties, it made sense for Minnesota to part ways with Towns, who is owed $220 million over the next four years for an average annual salary of $55 million.

The Timberwolves used that extra money to sign Gobert to a three-year, $110 million contract just before their season opener. In other words, Minnesota had to save money to prevent further luxury tax penalties, so they chose to retain Gobert while trading Towns.

"When I kept hearing the rumors that they were going to trade KAT, I kept saying to myself, don't do it," says Smith. "You haven't given him an opportunity. But now with the luxury tax and all the different things that go on, that's why guys get traded. As much as Rudy Gobert and KAT were criticized or were critically thought of at times, it also was a matchup problem. There were times when Rudy Gobert wasn't effective, there were times when they were effective."

Once again, Smith doubles down on being unsure if the trade makes the Timberwolves closer to being a championship team.

"I'm interested to see how it works," says Smith of the new-look T-Wolves. "I don't know how it's going to work. I have to see it now."

Smith believes that another potential Western Conference playoff contender – the Phoenix Suns – will fare better in their second season with the All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. The Suns disappointed with their "Big Three" last season, finishing 49-33 before the T-Wolves swept them in the first round.

Last season, Beal was limited to just 53 games due to injury, and the star trio played just 41 games together.

Smith says that if the Suns can add some rebounding, they could be in the NBA Finals.

"They have a Western Conference Finals appearance ceiling as currently constructed," says Smith. "If they get more rebounding, they could be in the Finals – for sure."

Meanwhile, Smith is optimistic about the Dallas Mavericks, the defending Western Conference champions. The Mavericks made a surprise NBA Finals run as a fifth seed last season, and the "Inside The NBA" analyst believes they can do the same this season with the addition of four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson.

"They have arguably a top three-point guard in Kyrie; they have arguably the top MVP candidate [Luka]," says Smith. "Of course, they can make another run. They have youth on their side and they added some pieces, without question, they can make another run."

Thompson struggled last year, as he came off of the bench for a brief time for the first time since his rookie season, averaging just 17.9 points in 29.7 minutes per game – his worst marks since the 2012-13 season.

However, he should fit better with the Mavericks considering they feature two of the best ball-handling playmakers in the league in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

"Klay Thompson is one of those players who can fit anywhere – due to shooting and his level is not seen easily – playing with guys like Luka who can create, off the dribble, they can allow him to have some space now where I thought with Golden State the last couple of years, they were kind of relying on him to create his space as he got older," says Smith. "Now he doesn't have to create the space as he did last year and will probably play a lot better and more All-Star-like with them."

Smith goes into further detail of why Thompson should fit better with the Mavericks.

"It should," Smith says when asked if Thompson fits better with the Mavericks. "Because Klay Thompson doesn't have to create his space. The space is going to be created by Luka and Kyrie. Now the defender is not going to be as close to him the whole game. In Golden State, when Steph Curry left the game, who else was creating that space for him? There was no one else. They were still using him as the Klay of old, instead of older Klay."

The new-look Mavericks will look to get off to a hot start this season when they host the San Antonio Spurs in their season opener on Thursday night.