NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
Are the New York Knicks set to trade Julius Randle? I’ve been against this move for three seasons, but it seems they may have no choice following the trade for Mikal Bridges and the re-signing of OG Anunoby. Randle’s time in NYC appears to be up.
The sad part is, it’s not his fault. His play has been stellar as he’s been named to 3 All-Star teams since coming to New York in 2019. But still, the truth is, he got injured at the wrong time. Last season, Randle went down with a shoulder injury and never returned for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. Despite his absence, the Knicks remained one of the hottest teams in the league and almost fought their way to the NBA Finals.
This offseason, instead of trying to run it back with Randle and Jalen Brunson leading the way, the Knicks are using their money to not only bring back a tough 3-D player in Anunoby, but also add valuable scoring with Bridges. That move alone may have signaled the end of the Julius Randle era with the New York Knicks.
For those Randle fans like myself, this may be a hard pill to swallow. But the facts are right in front of our faces.
Brunson is the starting PG. Donte DiVincenzo has earned the right to remain as the starting SG. Bridges will slide into the starting SF spot, while Anunoby will take over the PF position from Randle. With Mitchell staying at the Center position and that’s only if the Knicks can’t resign Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks will have one of the best starting units in the NBA next season.
Will The New York Knicks Trade Randle
But moving Randle opens the door for the New York Knicks to be even better even if I and others don’t like it. The Knicks are thin in terms of their second unit. Miles McBride and Josh Hart will lead that charge but who is there after they traded away Bojan Bogdanovic? This is where the Randle trade makes sense for the Knicks.
What they don’t need are starters. They need bend production. It’s also not about the draft picks either. The Knicks are in serious win-now mode. Getting back service bigs and another PG should be their main goal now and what team wouldn’t;t mind giving away some bench players for a player who averaged 24 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists before his injury?
But wait, for us Randle fans, there still is a chance he could stay. Tom Thibodeau can change some things around. For instance, he could move DiVincenzo to the bench and slide Bridges to SG then slide OG to SF and keep Randle at PF. Then, maybe they can resign Hartenstein and trade Robinsons for a few bench pieces. He won’t bring back the caliber players a Randle trade would but it’s worth thinking about.
Trading Julius Randle is still a risk no matter what. The Knicks went on a great run without him but he’s still a major reason for their success. Randle held it down for the Knicks when it was just him. He was paired with Brunson and they wreaked havoc on teams. Then Leon Rose got the necessary pieces to contend then injuries struck. It may not be time to give up on this unit. I would like to see what they could do with what they have.
However, this is the business side of the NBA. Moving Randle would not just bring back role players, it will also lessen the wallet of the Knicks’ checkbook as Randle is set to take home close to $60M over the next two seasons and is due for a possible extension.
Randle fans don’t want to see this happen but the Knicks are focused on winning and what they accomplished without Randle last season may be all the proof they need that he’s not needed.
Are the Knicks right? Well, no one knows until the dust settles. Stay tuned…
