Knicks Discussed Julius Randle Trades With Pistons, Hawks, Heat

[RealGM Wiretap]

The New York Knicks discussed potential trades for Julius Randle with the Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, and Miami Heat this offseason, sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

Randle was traded to the Timberwolves on Friday night.

Randle has a player option for $30.9 million for the 2025-26 season.

Randle and the Knicks had not made progress on contract discussions this offseason, according to Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Via Ian Begley/SNY

[Luv those Knicks]

As a Knicks fan, I was really looking forward to Randle/OGA/Bridges at the 2-3-4 with DDV/Josh Hart . . . others off the bench.

I get why Leon looked so hard at trading him. He probably (but not definitely) opts out after this season. Teams like expiring deals and Leon knew that Randle was tradable.

KAT's a very talented player, with questions, but nobody doubts his talent. Randle is less talented, but he plays hard. Physical and gritty. He's a lower efficiency scorer. Career .509 effective FG% to KAT's .576, so he's not close in terms of shooting or efficiency, but Randle's a good player.

I wonder what kind of contract he's going to get. Before this trade, I'd have said the Knicks needed him and needed to resign him. They lacked bigs, and Randle was their physical guy. But Randle's gone and he might not be in Mini's long term plans. Is he playing for a contract this year? What kind of contract will he get if he's a free agent next year? He's the kind of player that teams don't always want. Ball dominant, not a high efficiency scorer. Good rebounder, shoots and dribbles too much but he can make a good pass, gets lots of assists for a PF, draws the defense. He's a good player. Randle loved NY too. I'll be he's not happy this morning.

[watpho71]

As a Knicks fan, I was really looking forward to Randle/OGA/Bridges at the 2-3-4 with DDV/Josh Hart . . . others off the bench.

I get why Leon looked so hard at trading him. He probably (but not definitely) opts out after this season. Teams like expiring deals and Leon knew that Randle was tradable.

KAT's a very talented player, with questions, but nobody doubts his talent. Randle is less talented, but he plays hard. Physical and gritty. He's a lower efficiency scorer. Career .509 effective FG% to KAT's .576, so he's not close in terms of shooting or efficiency, but Randle's a good player.

I wonder what kind of contract he's going to get. Before this trade, I'd have said the Knicks needed him and needed to resign him. They lacked bigs, and Randle was their physical guy. But Randle's gone and he might not be in Mini's long term plans. Is he playing for a contract this year? What kind of contract will he get if he's a free agent next year? He's the kind of player that teams don't always want. Ball dominant, not a high efficiency scorer. Good rebounder, shoots and dribbles too much but he can make a good pass, gets lots of assists for a PF, draws the defense. He's a good player. Randle loved NY too. I'll be he's not happy this morning.

I'm not a Knicks fan and I was looking forward to watching that group play together. You don't necessarily need a super skilled player at center to make deep playoff runs, sometimes a defensive-minded center is more effective. Wouldn't the Knicks have been better off keeping Divo and trading for Capella? Their depth is no longer their strength, yet their weakness. If the playoffs started in November they would be fine, but the 82 game grind with a short rotation and Thibs at the helm.

[Luv those Knicks]

I'm not a Knicks fan and I was looking forward to watching that group play together. You don't necessarily need a super skilled player at center to make deep playoff runs, sometimes a defensive-minded center is more effective. Wouldn't the Knicks have been better off keeping Divo and trading for Capella? Their depth is no longer their strength, yet their weakness. If the playoffs started in November they would be fine, but the 82 game grind with a short rotation and Thibs at the helm.

Would that have been better? I don't know.

I think KAT gets a bad rap. He's not that bad a defender, in fact, he might be a better defender than Randle, though not as good a rebounder.

Its wait and see for me. They have a lot of talent and if you like precious, and he wasn't bad last year for NY, and when Mitch returns, they have 3 bigs. KAT, Mitch, Precious

2 wings, OGA and Bridges

Josh Hart as 6th man, McBride at SG and Brunson at PG, with 2 guys backing up Brunson.

That's 8 players, not counting the backup PGs, and 8 players is a standard rotation. It's not deep, but it's deep enough when everyone is healthy.

I'm kind of in shock about the trade, but lots of threads on that already. Getting back to Randle, the dude plays hard. He's not the most talented player out there, but he works to get his points. I'm curious how he does in Mini and assuming he opts out, what kind of free agent contract he gets next off-season.

[shrink]

Can any Knicks fans give me the likely offers from DET, ATL and MIA?

If things are going sideways for the Wolves, they may be a starting point for trade negotiations at the deadline.

Thanks