Brooklyn Nets stars Ben Sarf and Danny Wolf are set to get a new centerpiece in a three-team NBA trade involving the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal would send three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick in the upcoming draft from Minnesota to Brooklyn, while the Nets would send the No. 33 pick to Minnesota. Center Nic Claxton would leave Brooklyn for Chicago.
The trade links two teams that entered the offseason with significant salary-cap flexibility. Randle is owed $33.3 million for the 2026/27 season, which would now count against Brooklyn’s books, while Claxton’s $23.3 million salary would move to Chicago. Minnesota would gain major financial room, including the ability to re-sign guard Ayo Dosunmu, who came from Chicago during the season, use various cap exceptions to add talent in free agency, and create a $33.3 million trade exception.
Randle, 31, would return to the New York area after five seasons with the New York Knicks. In October 2024, he was traded to Minnesota with Donte DiVincenzo in the deal that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. He helped the Timberwolves win three playoff series over two seasons, but struggled in last month’s Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 12.8 points on 34% shooting.
Even so, he had an excellent regular season, becoming one of only 10 players in the league to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, while appearing in 79 games, his most since 2017/18. Claxton, 27, ends a six-year run in Brooklyn after being selected by the Nets in the second round of the 2019 draft. This season he averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds, set career highs in assists and offensive involvement, and became the first Nets player since Derrick Coleman in 1993/94 to finish a season with at least 250 assists and 75 blocks. The trade cannot be finalized before July 6 because Chicago is using cap space to absorb Claxton’s contract.
