The New York Knicks have gotten closer to having a championship-caliber roster over the past six months and could count on one of their best players to make an impact in their efforts. However, a former Knicks general manager believes doing so would be a vital mistake for the team.
Former Knicks GM Scott Perry thinks Knicks should keep Julius Randle
Scott Perry, who served as the Knicks’ general manager from the summer of 2017 through the summer of 2023, recently appeared on the “Hoop Genius” podcast and had this to say about how imperative he thinks it is for the Knicks to retain All-Star Julius Randle for the time being amid a wave of trade rumors (h/t Scott Davis of The Sporting News):
“People seem to forget who Julius Randle is. Julius Randle is the only three-time All-Star on his team. He’s the only two-time All-NBA player. You can’t rush him out of the building,” Perry said.
“And I love OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, but they’re not guys you can attack. They play with other good players, the best players. They are in their best position playing with Jalen Brunson. and Julius Randle. Because those are your two guys who can really get baskets against a set defense… Julius Randle, you hold on to him unless you can replace him with another All-NBA or All-Star player. Because without him, I don’t know, the Knicks would still be formidable, but they would miss a guy who can create offense against an established defense and when things break down and everything doesn’t have to fall solely on Jalen Brunson’s shoulders. “
The Knicks aren’t foolish to consider trading for their talented two-time All-NBA selection. Randle is a proven 24-25 point-per-game scorer who does a lot of things well on the court. His offense, inside presence and ability to knock down shots have been the biggest factor in the Knicks’ return to prominence in recent years, and downplaying that would be a disservice to his name.
That said, the Kentucky product’s playoff struggles, mediocre defense and offensive style of play don’t fit perfectly with what the Knicks have placed around him and All-Star Jalen Brunson in their six months of executing moves that they changed the game on the open market. There are three ways the Knicks can address the Randle situation moving forward.
The Knicks have a lot of mouths to feed, which could decrease Randle’s shot attempts.
First, New York could heed Perry’s request and keep Randle on the team. However, that would create a starting lineup in which four of its leading scorers — Jalen Brunson (21.4 FGA), Mikal Bridges (15.8 FGA), OG Anunoby (11.1 FGA) and Randle (18.2 FGA) — would demand their fair share of touches on offense.
It doesn’t help that Bridges has already had a taste of being a team’s leading scorer for two straight years, including averaging 26.1 points per game for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2022-23 season. It may be too good a taste for him to not want to indulge in anymore, especially as he enters his age-29 season with a world of possibilities ahead of him.
The same goes for Anunoby, who has been touted for years as a future three-star-caliber player. While he selflessly ingratiated himself into the Knicks’ rotation last season, he, too, might want a bigger role in 2024-25. Despite the egoless trend the NBA has had in recent years, player egos are always a factor in every season.
To top it off, Brunson was on the cusp of winning league MVP last time out, and to appease his teammates, even a reduction of three shot attempts per game could hurt his performance. Recent reports say he’s very much in the mood to sign a team-friendly contract extension, which speaks volumes about his humility and win-first mentality toward the team, but like Bridges and Anunoby, he might want to continue playing at an MVP level, which would require similar touches starting in 2023-24.
Should the Knicks gamble on trading Randle for Jazz star Lauri Markkanen?
Then there’s the popular move the Knicks could make. Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Paul George would be the perfect finishing touch for a Knicks starting lineup that needs another MVP-caliber player to eliminate doubts about their supremacy in the Eastern Conference. However, it’s unclear if the Clippers would want Randle in exchange for George.
Thus, Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen would make all the sense in the world as a secondary option. He can play the five in small-ball lineups, play his usual role at the four, and has a history of thriving playing small forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021-22. What more could a team ask for from a 7-footer who has shot 39.5 percent from three-point range over his last two seasons and is one of the most skilled scorers in basketball? Markkanen is excellent at catching and shooting, driving to the basket and finishing with high shots at the rim, and plays good defense, which is only enhanced by his height and wingspan.
Since the Jazz have their own lucrative pool of draft picks saved up for the future, they could get him if the Knicks offer Randle, a combination of a couple of key players including Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-rounder for added incentive. While DiVincenzo is a player it would hurt to give up, landing Markkanen and putting him next to Isaiah Hartenstein or Jericho Sims in the frontcourt would give Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau all the flexibility in the world to mix and match lineups that can run and shoot.
With his name rising in trade talks over the past 24 hours, the Knicks could walk away from the early part of the offseason with a roster that is much better on both ends of the floor than it was last year, but only at beginning of the Randle era in 2019-20.
Knicks could wait until trade deadline to move Randle
If either winger is, well, too extreme for the Knicks to target right away, a prudent approach would be to give their three-time All-Star the benefit of the doubt for the first half of next season before taking a decision. his future. Randle will return from a shoulder dislocation he suffered on January 27. New York could test the waters and not only see how he returns from said injury, but also how he fits into the new Knicks offense.
Will he try to continue establishing himself as an alpha in attack? Will the 29-year-old be open to taking another step back to ensure the engine runs well in 2024-25? If the Knicks can leverage Randle’s assets to land George or Markkanen, they shouldn’t be smarter deals to take advantage of. If not, the smarter approach would be to keep your former franchise player on board and pull the plug next winter if things don’t go as planned.
This post was published on 2024-06-30 13:06
