The Timberwolves' loss was proof that signing Randle will come with growing pains

When the Minnesota Timberwolves made their surprising Karl-Anthony Towns trade, the shock of losing a former franchise player quickly turned into uncertainty about the future. There were a lot of questions about how both Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo would fit with the rest of the team and how that would impact Minnesota's path to winning a championship.

As for Randle, we got a lot of answers during the Timberwolves' season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. In the team's first non-preseason game with real stakes and expectations, Julius turned in an inconsistent performance that routinely left Minnesota's fan base wanting.

Randle finished the game with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting and nine rebounds. He was actually the only Timberwolves starter to finish the contest with a positive plus-minus differential, but that number is a little misleading. Minnesota's new starting power forward looked anything but polished, and his entire game was a reminder of how different he is as a player from Karl-Anthony Towns.

Late in the third quarter, Randle caught the ball outside the three-point arc and Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht passed to him. Randle attacked his match, drove to the basket, then stopped, faked a pump and then hit a 10-foot jump shot. The result was an airball.

This wasn't his first mistake to worry the Wolves fanbase. Early in the first half, he missed a shot attempt with about a second on the shot clock, forcing Mike Conley to attempt to fire a shot before an infraction was committed. There was also a situation where Randle completely failed to block a free throw attempt, which resulted in Austin Reaves catching an offensive board.

Needless to say, there were numerous instances on the first night of the regular season where Julius Randle felt a bit frustrating. Of course, it would be easy to panic about this and jump to conclusions, but I think this proves what we probably all knew: that it will take time to integrate Randle into the rest of this team.

Moments of growing pains like Tuesday's will happen, but just like Rudy Gobert, patience will be key. Imagine if Minnesota had given up on Gobert after the 2022-23 season, and the 56-win Western Conference Finals team never did. Timberwolves fans are right to feel a little disappointed right now, but don't lose faith just yet.