Julius Randle had an early exit from the Playoffs this year. Well, most players would say reaching the Western Conference Finals is an achievement in and of itself. However, for a team that reached the Conference Finals last year, it really isn’t. But after failing to live up to them in his first season with the Timberwolves, Julius probably needs to decompress. And thanks to his wife, Kendra, we know how.

See, the Minnesota Timberwolves brought in Julius Randle by trading away Karl-Anthony Towns. So the bar was set pretty high for Randle. And after his return from injury, Julius seemed to be living up to it and even raising it on certain occasions. But a run-in with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder meant the Timberwolves’ second consecutive Western Conference Finals exit. So after this disappointment, what’s on the Randle family’s to-do list?

Well, it’s vacation time. And Kendra let us in on this after sharing an Instagram story captioned, “Vacay Ready”. The short clip panned across what looked like a first-class cabin—an in-flight bar, an air hostess on duty—vacation mode clearly activated. And amid this R and R time for the Randle family, it seems his impending free agency is the last thing on Julius’ mind.

However, judging from the Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski’s revelation, perhaps that’s for a good reason. Jon revealed that the Minnesota Timberwolves GM, Tim Connelly, is optimistic about re-signing Naz Reid, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Julius Randle. “We’re very appreciative of what the market might look like. We’re pretty cautiously optimistic we’re in a good place with all of the guys. Most importantly, they want to be here,” said Connelly, per Jon Krawczynski’s post on BlueSky.

See, Randle has a year left on his contract. But he’s got the choice to opt out of it given his $30 million player option. And many expected Julius to price himself out of a renewal. However, it doesn’t appear that he’s going to be based off what Tim Connelly just said. Even so, nothing’s really set in stone till Randle signs on the dotted line.

Nonetheless, if Julius does decide to opt out of his contract, well, the Timberwolves have an opportunity. A chance to land a generational player who’s also got two chips to his name. Much like a certain dynasty did in 2017 to become repeat championns.

Minnesota Timberwolves expected to pursue Kevin Durant amid Julius Randle uncertainty

There are very few guarantees in the NBA. Take Julius Randle, for instance. It’s a toss-up whether he re-signs with the Timberwolves despite their GM’s cautious optimism. However, Kevin Durant leaving the Phoenix Suns is about as close to a sure thing as you’ll get in the coming offseason.

Whether you blame the “superteam” of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and KD for the Suns’ failings or not, it’s clear the experiment has failed. And with Durant looking to start anew, who better than a team that just had over $30 million freed up from their salary cap? And Sam Amico of Hoops Wire revealed an interesting tidbit recently.

USA Today via Reuters

“The Timberwolves need another ‘alpha’ next to Edwards to win it all, which is why sources told Hoops Wire that Minnesota is expected to pursue a Durant trade again this offseason,” he reported. Now the whole pack alpha thing was disproven by the very scientist who came up with the theory. But one fact is undeniable — a team with KD and Anthony Edwards will be borderline unstoppable.

That said, this trade will be impossible for the Timberwolves without some cuts. After all, a star like KD demands a bag. $54.7 million to be precise. And if the Timberwolves don’t offload some of their top-earners like Julius Randle, there’s virtually no chance they’ll land KD. However, given what Connelly said about their players possibly re-signing, it seems Minnesota will hedge their bets on the group they have. For another season at least. And we’ll find out if it was the right call soon enoguh.