The Julius Randle Thread

[TimberKat]

Him and Ant on the floor together just kills ball movement. I just don't know what system to build around him and and Ant. Maybe have him as key guy off the bench?

I was happy with the Gobert trade but just don't see how the Towns trade fit. This maybe Connelly's worse move ever.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Totally agree. At that stage we should limit as much as we can Randle-Ant on the court together.

[Loaf_of_bread]

In his mind, he is probably thinking he has to score a lot

Yeah, he even likes to get his in garbage time.. stat junkie, could care less about winning. Never has even sniffed it.

[Luv those Knicks]

In his mind, he is probably thinking he has to score a lot

Yeah, he even likes to get his in garbage time.. stat junkie, could care less about winning. Never has even sniffed it.

Knicks fan who's watched Randle for a while. Sometimes he cares about wining. He isn't a bad guy at all, though sometimes misunderstood. He even took a slightly reduced contract after a very nice season to leave additional cap room and in doing so, he said he wanted to win in NY. That said, the year after signing that contract he was less good and his contract no longer looked friendly. There came a point where the Knicks won a meaningless game during a 30 win season when he wasn't on the floor and he sulked. I don't remember exactly what he did, but seeing RJ Barrett win a game for the team, he couldn't care less when other players succeed.

He also delayed surgery last year to see if he could heal enough to make the playoffs. You don't do that if you don't want to win and he hustles and plays hard, well, on offense and rebounding anyway. Not as much on D.

I've seen him play through pain, so there are things to like about Randle, but also, a lot to dislike.

His playoff numbers are lower, but part of that was lack of help and being one of the top options, and playoffs being more intense. I think that concern might be overblown, because I've seen him play hard in the playoffs.

Now the bad (other than what I wrote above)

He is too ball dominant, and his skill and efficiency aren't where you'd like it to be for a guy who wants the ball in his hands as much as Randle does. The points/assists look good for a PF, but as you've seen, it's, I wouldn't call it stat padding. I'd call it, he think's he's better than he actually is. He's generally thought of himself as a top scorer on a team and that's how he plays.

So, he kind of worked with Brunson as the #2 guy and he accepted that role. He worked well as the muscle and #2 option next to OG (3rd option last year on offense) and OG seems better at the SF than PF anyway. Isiah Hartenstein, who got a bigger role when Randle got hurt, seemed to fit better as the passing big man and Isiah didn't hog the ball like Randle . . . so I digress.

But Randle wasn't bad for us overall. He was bad in 2021-22, but overall he was a good play for us. The efficiency wasn't where you'd like it to be, but still good overall.

- - -


I like Donte as well, though hes struggling with your team so far too. Knick fans want Donte back, but . . . salary cap has these rules and all that.

Maybe you can trade Randle to Philly . . . I hear they're looking for a PF. That would be interesting, him and Embiid on the same team. Two bigs who love to shoot 3s. A team already in disfunction getting a player who wants the ball in his hands as much as possible. That would be funny.

anyhoo . . . I'm rooting for you guys, as there's not many teams in the West that I root for, though I kind of like OKC too.

The trade looks good on our end, though we're short handed and struggling defensively, but we have a fun starting 5 this year and the players are still figuring things out and how to play together. We need Mitch & Precious back though. Maybe Leon does another trade but he's running out of tradable players and very low on picks.

Finally - there's a chance Detroit makes the play to play this year, which means, there's a chance you get their pick in the 15-16 range. The east is bad enough that Detroit is in the mix, or next year if not this year, so at least that's something. A mid first round pick. Not much, but a little something.

hehe, my posts are too long. Sorry. My fingers never shut up.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

This video is quite interesting and show how Randle can be good at offense but how he is totally lazy Randle is on defense

View:

Watch on YouTube

[minimus]

I dont understand why Randle effort level is this low. Does he want a new contract? I also wonder whether another Randle will be addition by subtraction, I mean if Finch simply gives Randle's minutes to guys to cares about the game, such as Reid, Minott.

[DaGawd]

I dont understand why Randle effort level is this low. Does he want a new contract? I also wonder whether another Randle will be addition by subtraction, I mean if Finch simply gives Randle's minutes to guys to cares about the game, such as Reid, Minott.

this is why knick fans had a love hate relationship with this man. he can be amazing on offense at times like y’all have seen already but defensively he’s often just completely uninterested and doesn’t even try to appear to be engaged.

[DaMplsKid]

This is not an original from me, but so true:

Randle is the dlo of PF's.

Man this is so true. Connelly has to be looking to trade him ASAP. #DEC1 Hopefully will be the last week we see Randle in a T-Wolves jersey. He plays with no joy and you know that personality carries over to off the court. Watching many of the behind the wolves video the franchise releases and you can get feel he is an energy suck.

[winforlose]

This video says it and shows it better than I can.

Watch on YouTube

[wolves_89]

A question I've been thinking about is how much worse than Randle would Luka Garza be on the defensive end. Julius has a huge athletic advantage, but Luka gives max effort which could make up most if not all of the gap. A major plus for Garza is he would match up against centers, leaving Naz to defend forwards which is who he really should be guarding.

[wolves_89]

One thing that I didn't realize about Randle until recently is that after an initial hot 3pt shooting start he has been Josh Okogie level bad from beyond the arc. Over 13 November games he's shooting 28.6% on 4.8 attempts per game.

[shrink]

A question I've been thinking about is how much worse than Randle would Luka Garza be on the defensive end. Julius has a huge athletic advantage, but Luka gives max effort which could make up most if not all of the gap. A major plus for Garza is he would match up against centers, leaving Naz to defend forwards which is who he really should be guarding.

BBRef has Luka at 235 now, which looks reasonable after his extreme off-season workout regimen. But I’s still like to see it.

[it’s a little frustrating that Naz and Luka lost weight to gain minutes at PF, when Gobert and Towns would cover all 48. Maybe Naz was destined to be a big wing, but I think Luka is naturally a center, and that’s where he has all his post moves (though JimPete says he might also be the team’s best spot up shooter). Now, when we need a back up center, we don’t have anyone on the roster.]

And even if Garza got beat defensively, it might encourage his teammates to match the effort Luka always puts in. It might help the team’s chemistry.

[wolves_89]

A question I've been thinking about is how much worse than Randle would Luka Garza be on the defensive end. Julius has a huge athletic advantage, but Luka gives max effort which could make up most if not all of the gap. A major plus for Garza is he would match up against centers, leaving Naz to defend forwards which is who he really should be guarding.

BBRef has Luka at 235 now, which looks reasonable after his extreme off-season workout regimen. But I’s still like to see it.

[it’s a little frustrating that Naz and Luka lost weight to gain minutes at PF, when Gobert and Towns would cover all 48. Maybe Naz was destined to be a big wing, but I think Luka is naturally a center, and that’s where he has all his post moves (though JimPete says he might also be the team’s best spot up shooter). Now, when we need a back up center, we don’t have anyone on the roster.]

And even if Garza got beat defensively, it might encourage his teammates to match the effort Luka always puts in. It might help the team’s chemistry.

I've wondered if Luka would be better off bulking up rather than slimming down. With more weight/strength I could see being successful in a role defending bigger centers.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Randle can be trade starting today. At least a good news. Hope TC make it happen asap.

[King Ken]

I never understood the trade but KAT insane contract sadly limited his trade options.

[winforlose]

I never understood the trade but KAT insane contract sadly limited his trade options.

The trade was for DDV. We thought he was the combo guard of the future. When Dilly develops he becomes starting PG. Ant of course remains starting SG. DDV was supposed to be that flexible 3rd guard who can fit seamlessly into either backup spot. If you have a 3 guard rotation, and Miller develops into a 3 big rotation with Gobert and Naz (Randle leaves is or is traded in the longer.) Now you have 6 of your 8 pieces for a winner. Jaden and TSJ plus Clark for depth and hopefully Minott means you have a deep team by NBA standards. It just didn’t work as intended.

[Nick K]

I dont understand why Randle effort level is this low. Does he want a new contract? I also wonder whether another Randle will be addition by subtraction, I mean if Finch simply gives Randle's minutes to guys to cares about the game, such as Reid, Minott.

Because he is what he is.

We so lost the KAT trade. I would have traded Rudy if it was mostly money as it appears. He would be far easier to replace. Randle on defense is an embarrassment. He doesn't even try.

I would move Randle if I could get something for him. Still have hope for Ragu but it's no wonder why he's been with so many teams in 6 years. That should tell you something.

[Klomp]

A question I've been thinking about is how much worse than Randle would Luka Garza be on the defensive end. Julius has a huge athletic advantage, but Luka gives max effort which could make up most if not all of the gap. A major plus for Garza is he would match up against centers, leaving Naz to defend forwards which is who he really should be guarding.

BBRef has Luka at 235 now, which looks reasonable after his extreme off-season workout regimen. But I’s still like to see it.

[it’s a little frustrating that Naz and Luka lost weight to gain minutes at PF, when Gobert and Towns would cover all 48. Maybe Naz was destined to be a big wing, but I think Luka is naturally a center, and that’s where he has all his post moves (though JimPete says he might also be the team’s best spot up shooter). Now, when we need a back up center, we don’t have anyone on the roster.]

And even if Garza got beat defensively, it might encourage his teammates to match the effort Luka always puts in. It might help the team’s chemistry.

Zero chance Luka lost weight in an effort to get minutes at PF. Let's be real, slimming down is what has gotten him to where he is now, working his way up from two-way contracts to a standard minimum deal.

[winforlose]

Talk about a backhanded compliment.

“Anthony Edwards impressed with Julius Randle: 'I've never seen him play defense before'


Chris Hine: Anthony Edwards, with Julius Randle sitting next to him: “Naz and Julius is ****’ playing defense. You know, I’ve never see [Julius] play defense before. That’s **** incredible, and he’s right here, put the camera on him. He be guarding his ass off.” (Randle was laughing) 16 hours ago – via Bluesky”

Copied from hoopshype.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Talk about a backhanded compliment.

“Anthony Edwards impressed with Julius Randle: 'I've never seen him play defense before'


Chris Hine: Anthony Edwards, with Julius Randle sitting next to him: “Naz and Julius is ****’ playing defense. You know, I’ve never see [Julius] play defense before. That’s **** incredible, and he’s right here, put the camera on him. He be guarding his ass off.” (Randle was laughing) 16 hours ago – via Bluesky”

Copied from hoopshype.

Yes ANT is a smart guy. Find a way to stated that finally Julius and Naz play defense....was about time but it's nice to see. When all players play with this intensity, we look like last year team. Hope it lasted.