Is Julius Randle playing tonight against LA Lakers? Exploring Timberwolves star's availablity for opening game (Oct. 22)

Julius Randle was acquired by the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this month as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns deal with the New York Knicks. The Timberwolves are set to open their 2024-25 season on the road and face the LA Lakers on Tuesday. But will Randle play tonight against the Lakers?

According to ESPN's latest injury report, the Timberwolves have a fully healthy roster to start the season. Randle is expected to make his debut for Minnesota and start alongside Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert.

The three-time NBA All-Star played in just 46 games last season and missed the playoffs for the Knicks. He suffered a dislocated right shoulder in January but opted to rehab the injury and avoid surgery. However, he didn't progress well and had to go under the knife in April.

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Julius Randle spent 5 seasons in New York

The New York Knicks were looking for a center after Mitchell Robinson suffered a setback during his recovery from ankle surgery. The Knicks were pretty thin in the position after the departure of Isaiah Hartenstein to the OKC Thunder in free agency.

New York went all in to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves. They traded Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a protected first-round pick to finalize the three-team trade that also involved the Charlotte Hornets.

Randle spent five seasons in New York, being named an All-Star three times and posting the best numbers of his career so far. He'll be a secondary option on offense in Minnesota behind Anthony Edwards. He also gives the Timberwolves a variety of options for their lineup with Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert.

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How did Julius Randle do in the preseason?

Due to his recovery from right shoulder surgery, Julius Randle was only allowed to play one game in the preseason. Randle made his first appearance for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 16 against the Chicago Bulls. He looked good in his debut, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes.

Randle emphasized in an interview with Chris Hine of The Minnesota Star Tribune on Monday that he's more of a passer than a scorer. He already liked the approach of coach Taylor Finch, who guided the Timberwolves to the No. 3 seed and the Western Conference final last season.

"I've always liked to say I'm more of a passer than a scorer," Randle said. "That's what I genuinely like to do. That's how I grew up playing basketball. … That's what I enjoy doing and Finchy's putting me in many different positions to playmake that I'm excited to be able to show."

In addition to being the secondary scoring option, it seems like Randle will be getting ballhandling and playmaking duties behind Mike Conley and Anthony Edwards. Randle averaged 4.7 assists with the Knicks in five seasons, with a career-high 6.0 assists per game during the 2020-21 campaign.