The deal brought Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota along with a protected first-round pick, improving the team's depth in the short term and its flexibility for the foreseeable future. The depth was appealing in part because the Wolves had let veterans Kyle Anderson and Monte Morris go in free agency.

Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards addresses the absence of his fellow All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns.

The deal brought Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota along with a protected first-round pick, improving the team's depth in the short term and its flexibility for the foreseeable future. The depth was appealing in part because the Wolves had let veterans Kyle Anderson and Monte Morris go in free agency.

One way to think about this deal financially is the difference between Towns’ contract and Randle’s likely wages over that same period.

On Thursday, Randle and Minnesota's other new faces met with media for the first time since the transaction. There, Randle revealed his reaction to the trade, which sounded pretty similar to how the rest of the NBA world felt: shocked.