Jaylen Clark didn’t exactly light a match, but he definitely left some smoke hanging in the air when he talked about the Timberwolves playing without Anthony Edwards.
Minnesota is in a stretch where it has to sort out its offense without its star, and Clark pointed back to last season as the reference point. That’s where former teammate Julius Randle entered the conversation, and Clark’s wording made the comparison stand out.
“I mean we did it a lot last year… I think the biggest difference is that you had a Julius personality… versus all of us were so together we were all trying to do it, where as it was more Julius, you just knew he was the next in the pecking order. But I think we got a lot of great challengers, like Jaden, Melo, all these guys are more than capable of stepping up,” Clark explained.
He didn’t directly go after Randle, but the message was clear enough. Clark was drawing a line between a team that leaned on one obvious offensive option and a group now trying to spread the load around. In his view, Minnesota has more than one player ready to take on that responsibility.
That matters even more because Randle’s run in Minnesota is already over. He was sent to Brooklyn in an offseason salary-related deal that brought LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves, setting both teams on different paths for the 2026-27 campaign.
Randle has wasted little time making his presence felt with the Nets. Through his first games in Brooklyn, he’s averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, and his 33-point debut showed exactly how much he can shoulder offensively.
Still, his usage has sparked some conversation among Nets fans as Brooklyn tries to settle into a new look and find more consistency.
For Minnesota, the task is simpler to state and harder to solve: replace Edwards’ production without leaning on just one player to carry everything. Clark pointed to Jaden McDaniels and Ball as part of the answer, along with other capable challengers on the roster.
So even if Clark wasn’t aiming for a direct jab, the contrast he drew was hard to miss. Minnesota is clearly trying to build a different kind of offensive balance this season, and when the Timberwolves and Nets eventually meet, Randle will have a chance to face the team that moved on from him.
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Nets Backcourt Plan Hits Another Snag At The Worst Time
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Egor Demin is expected to give the group a boost by returning after a six-game absence, which at least gives the Nets another option as they try to find some rhythm. The timing matters against a Pelicans team that has dropped three straight, but Brooklyn still has to sort out how much it can lean on its guards and how quickly the rotation can settle. For a team searching for traction, every absence changes the equation a little more. [Read more 🡒]
Nets May Have A Frontcourt Option Worth Watching Closely
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The defensive side may be what gives him the most traction with the Nets. Nelson added two blocks and looked comfortable protecting the paint, which only adds to the momentum he has built with a strong preseason showing. For a Brooklyn team always monitoring its next internal option, he is starting to look like more than just a name in the system. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Suddenly Have An Early Minutes Puzzle Fans Should Watch
Egor Demins return gave Brooklyn a timely lift after a stretch of injury absences left the backcourt and wing rotation thinner than usual. The Nets had been without Nolan Traore and Mikel Brown Jr., and Demins presence helped steady things in a recent win while the team continued sorting through how to cover minutes with bodies coming and going.
The bigger question now is how Brooklyn handles the next wave of availability, especially with the roster still being managed carefully on the fly. Jordi Fernandez had to navigate the late news on Traore, and the way the Nets balance those unexpected absences against Demins re-entry into the mix could shape the early rotation picture in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]