Opening night shows why the Hornets did right avoiding a blockbuster move

Julius Randle
Julius Randle / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
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The 2024-25 regular season is finally here, with the Boston Celtics opening it up by lighting the New York Knicks to the tune of 29 3-pointers. That broke the Charlotte Hornets' record of 23 long-range hits, which they set five years ago.

The second contest saw history made when LeBron and Bronny James became the first father-and-son duo to play in an NBA match together. Thanks in large part to Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103, giving Lakers coach JJ Redick a win in his coaching debut.

While most eyes were on Los Angeles, some of the attention was on the Wolves because they played without Karl-Anthony Towns for the first time since 2015.

Hornets dodged a bullet by not making a blockbuster trade

Towns was shipped to the Knicks this offseason, with Minnesota receiving Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle in the package. Interestingly, Randle had been mentioned as a possible trade target for the Hornets.

Of course, nothing materialized, and, in all likelihood, New York and Charlotte didn't even consider talking about a trade centered around Randle.

The three-time All-Star would have been the best power forward/center in the Hornets' recent history. Unfortunately, his skills wouldn't have been a strong fit with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Moreover, his timeline wouldn't have aligned well with Charlotte's foundational players. For those reasons and more, a Randle deal would have set the team back.

Funnily enough, the squad did get involved and may even end up winning the Randle blockbuster trade.

Tuesday's slate of games could have had the Hornets ruing not listening to some pundits who kept pushing for the acquisition of the two-time All-NBA selection.

But that didn't turn out to be the case (at least for one contest), as Randle looked uninspired on both ends of the court. He nearly put up a double-double, although his ball-hogging tendency was on full display in some possessions. On defense, he helped allow Anthony Davis score a game-high 36.

This reaction may be premature, but things don't look promising for the Wolves. It wouldn't have been too concerning had Randle shown positive body language throughout the evening. However, a negative aspect of his game that has had some Knicks fans up in arms about him in the past manifested itself again.

New York's loss to the Celtics should also serve as a warning for the Hive squad, as a blockbuster deal won't always take a team to the next level.

Its acquisition of Mikal Bridges and Towns was supposed to help the Knicks to be at par with the defending champion. But Boston just looked unstoppable, and Bridges and KAT were complete non-factors. Hopefully, that should teach the Hornets to think clearly before listening to suggestions to trade for Brandon Ingram, as that could also result in more problems than significant improvements.

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