NBA Trade Rumours: The New York Knicks Are Looking To Trade Julius Randle. What Team Should Trade For Him?
Earlier this season, the New York Knicks were in discussions with the Charlotte Hornets regarding a trade that was circled around Julius Randle. However, once the trade deadline appeared, the negotiations for a potential deal were soon squashed, and as a result, Randle would still be a member of the New York Knicks. However, on June 7, 2020, Chat Sports, a youtube account and sports page, announced that Randle is back in trade rumours. Trading away, Randle has been tough for the Knicks front office due to the contract that New York gave him. The Knicks offered Julius Randle a three year 63 million dollar contract, which would bite the organization as Randle struggled to produce numbers similar to his tenure in New Orleans. However, New York is a tough organization to represent, considering that the Knicks have one of the most tenacious and ruthless fans in sports history!
Randle played solid this season but, he was very inconsistent offensively. Some games, Randle would produce 25 or more points while other games he would barely touch 15 points. His game relies on having the ball, and if he doesn’t receive it, Randle would be a below-average to an average basketball player in the NBA. However, would trading away Julius Randle be a smart move from the New York Knicks, or are they rushing their decision based on one year of play?
The New York Knicks are currently one of the worst organizations in the modern era of basketball. From their horribly run front office to never having a consistent roster to work with, the Knicks have many internal problems that they need to fix before even considering trading away any of their players. However, with the Knicks being as dysfunctional as they are, their aspirations of trading away Randle could be looked at as a double-edged sword. The benefit of trading away Randle is, reducing cap space, but no star player has shown any interest in playing for the Knicks. Even though every NBA player has said, “Madison Garden is my favourite place to play,” no superstar player would want to sign in New York due to the dysfunctional front office. Last season, the Knicks did arguably the worst trade in the last five years where they traded away their franchise corner-stone pupil in Kristaps Porzingis in exchange for essentially Dennis Smith Jr. Their logic, they wanted to trade away an injured 7’3 player in Kristaps Porzingis because they were unsure about if he would return to the court the same way and was also reluctant about giving their star player a max contract. The Knicks were confident that they were going to sign Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving or Jimmy Butler and, as a result, risked everything only to receive Julius Randle and a bunch of overpaid veteran players. If the Knicks have a similar attitude towards Julius Randle, they are making a terrible mistake considering what occurred last season. Imagine if the Knicks kept Porzingis, the duo of RJ Barrett and Kristaps Porzingis would have been spectacular to see.
By trading away, Randle means that the Knicks would potentially miss out on Randle peaking as a player. This season, the Knicks struggled in pretty much every aspect of the game. If they can incorporate Randle offensively without hindering their record, they might have an All-Star calibre player to work with. When Anthony Davis refused to play with the Pelicans towards the second half of the season, Randle exploded and averaged 21 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and close to a steal and block per game. Although Randle increased his rebounding numbers this season, his efficiency was heavily hindered as he went from averaging 52% from the field to now 46%. For a power forward, that is not ideal.
Even though Randle is struggling offensively, he is only 25 years old and has room to improve. With the Knicks being as young as they are, Randle fits the timeline for their rebuild and should keep him instead of giving up on him so soon. But knowing the Knicks and their track record over the years, they will most likely trade Randle away and watch him blossom as an All-Star calibre player on a different team just like Kristaps Porzingis did with the Dallas Mavericks. If the Knicks trade away Randle, they could be missing out on something bigger, however, what teams should trade for Randle?
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets this past season have been seeking to acquire Julius Randle in any way, shape or form. However, negotiations died quickly, but that doesn’t mean that the Hornets should give up. Due to contracts, Terry Rozier would have to be apart of this trade, which isn’t necessarily a huge loss. With the offensive production and development of Devonte Graham, having another scoring orientated small guard could be crowded, considering that the Hornets also have Malik Monk. Trading away Rozier would hurt; however, having Randle on the team would provide balance, considering that Charlotte would have a reliable scoring big man. If Randle can emulate his statistics from his time with the New Orleans Pelicans, chances are that the Hornets would have a new young duo while also having a solid young supporting cast of PJ Washington, Miles Bridges, and Malik Monk. Furthermore, Charlotte’s basketball would be much more entertaining, and with the right free agent signings, the Hornets could be looked at as a dark horse playoff contender.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are currently one of the best teams in the NBA as they are the third seed in the Eastern Conference. From the emergence of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to their incredible defence, the Celtics are a dangerous team that shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, their biggest weakness is rebounding the basketball as no player on the Celtics averages ten or more rebounds a game. As mentioned earlier, Julius Randle has increased his rebounding numbers this season to ten alongside starting center, Mitchell Robinson. If the Celtics trade for Randle, Jayson Tatum could go back to his natural position at small forward, and Gordan Hayward would look to be traded away in order for this trade to happen. The Knicks would have to include another player to make the contracts work, and all of a sudden, the Celtics have a reliable rebounder, and the Knicks would receive a veteran player that only has one more year left on his contract which is a player option. This benefits both teams equally, and even though Randle is getting paid 18 or more million dollars a season, the good news is, it is a team option.
Denver Nuggets
Having a player like Julius Randle on the Denver Nuggets would be ideal for this team to have. Rather than Jokic being glued inside the paint, having a player like Randle along his side would grant Jokic flexibility to be a playmaking center while also stretching the floor. With Jokic being the best rebounder on the team, it restricts him from doing more because the Nuggets lack another reliable rebounding big man. Although Randle is not an insane rebounder, averaging ten rebounds a game is tough to do, and if Randle could emulate that, Jokic would be free to expand his wings in ways that the NBA has never seen. With his recent dramatic weight loss, NBA fans can tell that Jokic is determined and ready to face any threats that the NBA has to offer.
Paul Millsap or Gary Harris would have to be incorporated in terms of the trade due to the contract situation. The Nuggets would also have to throw the Knicks, either a draft pick or a young player due to Randle only being 25 years old.
Concluding Thoughts
In the end, the New York Knicks are rushing into trading Randle without realizing his potential or ceiling. Randle has only played less than one season with the Knicks, and if they give up on him, they would be making a similar mistake to what they did with Porzingis. Even though Kristaps did request a trade, the Knicks appeared to be relieved as it almost seems that they wanted Porzingis to request a trade. Instead of fighting to keep him around, the Knicks 30 minutes later traded Porzingis away to the Dallas Mavericks, where Mark Cuban did one of the biggest finesses in NBA history. If the Knicks do the same to Randle, who is only 25 years old, New York would once again continue to paint their picture of being the most dysfunctional team in sports history.