The big man is giving us fans the ‘silent treatment’. It’s been a day since the Timberwolves traded Julius Randle alongside Donte DiVincenzo in a blockbuster trade with the Knicks. But, the star power forward hasn’t made a single comment about the trade yet. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns, who had a similar hoops fate, reacted on his outlandish terms. However, in a matter not related to the hardwood, Randle has finally opened up in his mom’s latest post, with a heartfelt reply.

The big man’s mom, Carolyn Kyles, dropped a mom-son click on Instagram. It was a surprising picture of her posing with J-Randle with broad smiles on their faces. The caption read, “New chapter new haircut and beard! Proud of you Ju @juliusrandle30 Let’s go Wolves,” with a wolf emoji. Yes, the hooper has geared up for the upcoming challenge with a fresh cut.

While Carolyn subtly addressed the blockbuster trade in her caption, Julius Randle, who commented, ignored that part. The star wrote, “Mommas boy,” along with a red heart and praying emoji. Nevertheless, the Wolves fans at least got an acknowledgment from his mother. Notably, the former Knicks star, who carried a dreadlock hairstyle, got it all snipped off, ahead of the new season. Relieving the tension, some might assume?

The 29-year-old star hasn’t had an easy run in the last few months. After suffering a grave shoulder injury, Randle missed a major chunk of last season. He went through mandatory shoulder surgery in April and has been recovering since then to return to the court.

While everyone expected the big man to join the Knicks and strengthen the frontcourt, along with OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, it’s all changed all of a sudden. After a five-season-long stint, averaging 22.5 points and 9.8 rebounds, the big man has to start from scratch. It’s indeed a tough situation and he might react in a few days. His wife, however, termed this a ‘bittersweet’ moment and a ‘new healthy chapter’ for the Randle family. “Forever grateful for this experience. New York was amazing to our family,” she wrote.

Kendra continued, “Kye Kye (their son) grew up in the garden. We got here when he was 1.5 years old and this year, he will be 8. So many of you embraced him/us and made this experience unforgettable and I’m forever grateful.” While this is the Randles’ side of the story, don’t forget that with Julius coming Minnesota’s way, another big name moved in the opposite direction. The emotions from the fanbase were at its peak in Karl-Anthony Towns‘ comments section too. But had a unique response to the trade.

While Julius Randle kept quiet, how did Karl-Anthony Towns react?

Unlike Julius Randle, Karl-Anthony Towns had an even harder pill to swallow. The 28-year-old big man represented the Wolves throughout his career. The team selected KAT with the #1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Importantly, he went on to win the ROTY award and continued to showcase his talent for 9 seasons. Moreover, in the last season, the Timberwolves broke their 2-decade-old curse after making a deep playoff run led by none other than Anthony Edwards, reaching the Conference Finals.

However, when everyone thought that the Wolves were going in with an unchanged side for the upcoming season, the team dropped a bomb. The Athletic’s report also stated that this update left the 7 ‘0 big man “stunned”. Immediately after the announcement, the 4x All-Star took to his X handle and posted just three full stops, “…” 

It’s enough to understand that Towns likely wasn’t happy with the trade. Moreover, another update revealed that the star spent time working out in the Wolves’ gym late in the night, following the trade. Will KAT find it easy to settle with the Knicks? Let us know.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.