The Brooklyn Nets are expected to add three-time NBA All-Star Julius Randle in a three-team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported overnight. The deal would send Randle and the No. 28 pick in the upcoming draft from Minnesota to Brooklyn, while the Nets would send No. 33 to Minnesota. Chicago would receive center Nic Claxton.
The move involves two teams that had significant salary-cap space before free agency opened. Randle’s 2026/27 salary is $33.3 million, which will now count against Brooklyn’s payroll, while Claxton’s $23.3 million salary will move onto Chicago’s books. Minnesota gains major financial flexibility, including the ability to re-sign Naz Reid and use various cap exceptions, and it is expected to create a $33.3 million traded-player exception.
Randle, 31, will return to the New York area after five seasons with the New York Knicks. He was sent to Minnesota in October 2024, along with Donte DiVincenzo, in the trade that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. In two seasons with the Timberwolves, he helped them win three playoff series, but he struggled in last month’s Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 12.8 points on 34% shooting.
Even so, Randle had a strong regular season and was one of only 10 players in the league to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. He played 79 games, his most since 2017/18. Claxton, 27, is set to end a six-year run in Brooklyn after the Nets selected him in the second round of the 2019 draft. Last season he averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds, posted career highs in assists and offensive involvement, and became the first Net since Derrick Coleman in 1993/94 to finish a season with at least 250 assists and 75 blocks. Because Chicago is using cap space to absorb Claxton’s contract, the trade cannot be finalized before July 6.
