Over the last two games, which have been ugly losses to the Knicks and Warriors, Wolves fans on social media have started to sour on Randle. Not because of what he does on offense — he actually got off to a great start on that end against his former team — but because of his lack of effort on defense.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were recently predicted to already move on from Julius Randle in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Naz Reid saw it. Anthony Edwards saw it, too. So did the thousands of fans packing the Target Center, their eyes locked on Julius Randle as Karl-Anthony Towns made his highly anticipated return to Minnesota on Thursday.

Julius Randle’s defensive struggles draw scrutiny after the Timberwolves’ loss to the Warriors, highlighting concerns about his commitment and impact.