LAS VEGAS — Brooklyn Nets forward Julius Randle unexpectedly came to the Nets via a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves as one of the bigger moves in free-agency this summer. Brooklyn wasn’t rumored to be interested in Randle as most people around the NBA considered the team to be sellers, but he was aware of what the team had prior to acquiring him.
“Just young. When they kind of asked me about the team, I was really excited, just watching Egor [Demin] and the young guys and then talking to Mikel,” Randle said to the media earlier this summer while at the Las Vegas Summer League when asked about his knowledge of the team. Randle has spent the past few seasons competing for championships with the Timberwolves and New York Knicks, but he seems to embrace the youth on the roster.
“It’s gonna be fun. Obviously, in the West, it’s a little bit different, you know? I really didn’t watch much of the East, being in the West, but I just knew it was a lot of young talent,” Randle continued. “I know a lot about Michael Porter [Jr.] and Terance [Mann] and those guys and stuff like that, so it’s gonna be a fun challenge. It’s exciting.”
When looking at the Nets roster at this point in the offseason, Randle will be relying on someone like forward Michael Porter Jr. to help provide the offensive punch this team needs. Brooklyn has added more veterans in guard Keon Ellis and center Mo Wagner, but the majority of the rotation next season will consist of the players taken in the 2025 and 2026 NBA Drafts.
Randle and Porter will likely be starting alongside Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Demin, and Day’Ron Sharpe will players like Danny Wolf and Noah Clowney to be coming off the bench for head coach Jordi Fernandez. Randle did not keep up with the Eastern Conference much last season as he was trying to help Minnesota win a title, but he now understands the kind of youth and talent that resides in Brooklyn at the moment.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Julius Randle gives opinion on roster prior to trade
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
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By Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire | USA TODAY Network
