Julius Randle Could Miss Timberwolves Debut vs. Knicks

The New York Knicks are set to have some old friends over for Sunday dinner.

Sunday is set to stage the first interaction between the Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves since the two sides swapped headliners earlier this fall: Karl-Anthony Towns came to the Knicks in exchange for a package led by Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. The latter duo will make an early return to Madison Square Garden on Sunday for an interconference preseason game (6 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).

While DiVincenzo partook in Minnesota’s preseason opener on Oct. 4, Randle has yet to take the floor as he continues to work his way back from a season-ending shoulder injury endured on MSG hardwood in January. Shams Charania of ESPN hinted that a little more patience may be required on Friday’s edition of “NBA Today.”

“I’m told that Julius Randle is not expected to make his Minnesota Timberwolves preseason/unofficial debut (on Friday),” Charania said. “But the hope and likelihood is that Randle will be debuting at some point next week … The last week or so of Julius Randle’s training camp has really been about strengthing that shoulder and making sure, from an organizational perspective and Julius Randle himself, that he feels right, that he feels 100 percent.”

Of note, Charania doesn’t mention Sunday’s visit to New York as a possibility. Minnesota faces the Philadelphia 76ers in a neutral site exhibition on Friday in Des Moines, IA before it closes the preseason slate with a back-to-back, traveling to Chicago before hosting the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Sunday should no doubt stand as an emotional affair nonetheless, especially for those who flock to the Garden with the idea of paying respects to Randle and DiVincenzo. Randle is embarking on a new challenge after a successful start to the decade in New York, one that produced three All-Star Game invites and two All-NBA Team nominations.

DiVincenzo, who had a career-best campaign during his single tour of New York, picked up where he left off in the Wolves’ preseason opener: the Villanova alum scored 11 points in 10 minutes, hitting all four of his shots en route to a 124-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Palm Beach.

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