Julius Randle IS a 'cornerstone' player

[nedleeds]

Good player on a bad team in an atrocious conference, he's not LeBron lite ... we're 14-15 in the garbage East.

If the 3 point shooting holds he could be a good 3rd or 4th best player on a competitive team. Did he finally get in shape because it's essentially a contract year would be my other concern.

Please turn in your knicks fan card.

He's just being a realist. Doesn't mean he's not a fan. Do you really think Randle is a #1 on a championship team and worth the max?

I'm a fan of building a team that can win a title. I've been an active adult for 2 finals runs. Randle as your best player gets you 14-15 in the trash East. The Lebron lite stuff is delusional fan service. I'd happily trade Randle for a great 21 year old, or a good 21 year old a good pick.

Like, Porter Jr. for Randle ... I'd do it all day.

Randle would be the 3rd or 4th best player on Denver and might be good for them, probably move Millsap to the bench and give them some depth.

[spree2kawhi]

Do I really need to back up my statement? DWade is one of the best players ever. You agree with that, correct? Maybe you didn't watch DWade's career much. Booker is great, but these comparisons are getting out of hand. Andrew Wiggins had a ton of talent too.

I'm confident Booker will give you the tour one day. The jury is out on this one obviously, but DWade isn't one of the greatest players ever in my book. He was obviously good, of course, but Booker is not your average All Star guard either.

Find me a top 5 SG ever list without D. Wade on it and tell me again about how he's not great.

I'll find you 30 greater players. How about that?

[NewKnicks]

There's no point in trading for Beal if you're going to get rid of more than 1 of Mitch/RJ/IQ. You'd rather give up more picks to compensate for keeping them off the table.

He's not AD. He's a step below. You need an infrastructure to make it work. They may consider trading 1 of those 2 instead of Mitch but, no way they are dumb enough to give up 2. That puts way too much pressure on them to get the next moves right with less fleixbility to eff up... just like the Melo situation. It's the stones and bush theory but in basketball terms

I agree with you. I don't want to make the deal because it's going to gut our roster. How many teams are looking at Beal? The price is going to be very, very high. Let's build through the draft. We're not at the stage in our process to make a move like this. We simply don't have enough talent on the roster currently. Keep adding assets, build through the draft, and hopefully hit on a few of our future #1's. If we do, we might be in a position to do this. It's not like Beal is the only player that will be available. Next year there will be the same situation with other star players. Happens every year. I say wait at least 2 more years before making any big moves.

The problem with waiting is you have to pay Randle within 2 years. Whether you try to extend him this summer at less than a max or let him earn the right to hit the open market after his option, in some way or form you either have to pay him (eat into your future flexibility) or get something for him within 2 years in which case you are most likely hitting the reset button because this roster as currently constructed is super dependent on him. They're way worse with him off the floor.

Then, as mentioned previously, Mitch is due for an extension this summer. He's making peanuts. So any extensions is going to be a significant raise on his current deal structure. Again cutting into flexibility.

Soon enough we're going to have to make a decision on RJ. we have 2 more years after this one where he's under our control and he will likely want a max extension as most top 3 picks who aren't complete busts get...

It's nice, in theory, to say let's wait and wait until the right time but that's how you become the TWolves or the Bulls or the dreaded Treadmill team like the Celtics are slowly becoming around Brown and Tatum... They waited and waited and shuffled through lower lottery picks and just continue this cycle of crap because they couldn't get the right talent to fit. Things move way faster in the NBA than we give credit for on here. Knicks have an opportunity to seize on teh fact that Julius is outplaying his current deal and have guys on cheap deals who are outproducing them. It's ok to wait maybe until this offseason or the next deadline, but things get really hairy really quick if they wait longer than that.

the nice part of Lavine's and Beal's current contracts are they line up with when Randle and RJ need to get paid or go elsewhere pretty well. Lavine has 1 more year on his current deal and Beal has 2 on his max extension. So if it doesn't work out we can hit the reset button relatively quickly.

On the flipside, if we trade for Beal we'll have no assets left. Our 1st's will be gone for 3 years, and we're still going to have to give up Mitch/IQ/RJ (one or two of the three) Randle/Beal/RJ is not bringing us a championship. At best we'll continue to get bounced in the second round.

Haven't we done the 'trade for a superstar now' thing a lot in the past? It hasn't worked, unless you consider the Melo teams to be huge successes. We need to build for a championship, not build for an above average team that competes every year.

[NewKnicks]

I think Randle can be a LeBron lite

Jesus Christ.

I don't see what is wrong with the comment.

"LeBron lite" is essentially like saying "a poor man's LeBron" or at least that's how I read it. Which I think is a fine statement to make - especially since they're not saying he is "LeBron lite" today but merely saying that Randle CAN be LeBron lite in the future.

Maybe some people (namely LeBron worshippers) are a little sensitive to statements like this..

I love this mentioning Randle in the conversation versus 1/2 best players in the history of the league. Even LeBron lite would be one of the best players ever to play.

[spree2kawhi]

I think Randle can be a LeBron lite

Jesus Christ.

I don't see what is wrong with the comment.

"LeBron lite" is essentially like saying "a poor man's LeBron" or at least that's how I read it. Which I think is a fine statement to make - especially since they're not saying he is "LeBron lite" today but merely saying that Randle CAN be LeBron lite in the future.

Maybe some people (namely LeBron worshippers) are a little sensitive to statements like this..

This is the reason why Knicks fans deserve their Knicks.

[cgf]

Please turn in your knicks fan card.

He's just being a realist. Doesn't mean he's not a fan. Do you really think Randle is a #1 on a championship team and worth the max?

I'm a fan of building a team that can win a title. I've been an active adult for 2 finals runs. Randle as your best player gets you 14-15 in the trash East. The Lebron lite stuff is delusional fan service. I'd happily trade Randle for a great 21 year old, or a good 21 year old a good pick.

Like, Porter Jr. for Randle ... I'd do it all day.

Randle would be the 3rd or 4th best player on Denver and might be good for them, probably move Millsap to the bench and give them some depth.

Who said Randle has to remain our best player? With his playmaking & improvement as a shooter, there's no reason he couldn't play 2nd or 3rd banana to a better player.

[cgf]

Jesus Christ.

I don't see what is wrong with the comment.

"LeBron lite" is essentially like saying "a poor man's LeBron" or at least that's how I read it. Which I think is a fine statement to make - especially since they're not saying he is "LeBron lite" today but merely saying that Randle CAN be LeBron lite in the future.

Maybe some people (namely LeBron worshippers) are a little sensitive to statements like this..

I love this mentioning Randle in the conversation versus 1/2 best players in the history of the league. Even LeBron lite would be one of the best players ever to play.

LeBron-lite means a worse player with a similar game/style-of-play; it says nothing about how much worse. This LeBron worship is getting obscene

[Fat Kat]

Randle is a Jimmy Butler level star.

How far has Jimmy taken teams? Not a good comparison at all. It's just one year that Randle has played this way. And on team that has little talent across the board compared to rest of the league. Stop with that. Jimmy Butler is a true winning superstar. Randle hasn't done chit in terms of winning.

The comparisons on this board are really getting out of hand.

You need to calm your biatch azz down. The next time you address me it needs to be respectfully

[Garbagelo]

Let's see how this post ages by the end of the season.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

I don't see what is wrong with the comment.

"LeBron lite" is essentially like saying "a poor man's LeBron" or at least that's how I read it. Which I think is a fine statement to make - especially since they're not saying he is "LeBron lite" today but merely saying that Randle CAN be LeBron lite in the future.

Maybe some people (namely LeBron worshippers) are a little sensitive to statements like this..

I love this mentioning Randle in the conversation versus 1/2 best players in the history of the league. Even LeBron lite would be one of the best players ever to play.

LeBron-lite means a worse player with a similar game/style-of-play; it says nothing about how much worse. This LeBron worship is getting obscene

Go back and read the post, he said nothing about playstyle. He also had Randle being "secondary-ish" to Kawhi, like it's up for debate about who would be the number 1 option between the two of them

[NewKnicks]

I don't see what is wrong with the comment.

"LeBron lite" is essentially like saying "a poor man's LeBron" or at least that's how I read it. Which I think is a fine statement to make - especially since they're not saying he is "LeBron lite" today but merely saying that Randle CAN be LeBron lite in the future.

Maybe some people (namely LeBron worshippers) are a little sensitive to statements like this..

I love this mentioning Randle in the conversation versus 1/2 best players in the history of the league. Even LeBron lite would be one of the best players ever to play.

LeBron-lite means a worse player with a similar game/style-of-play; it says nothing about how much worse. This LeBron worship is getting obscene

LeBron worship? Are you serious? I still think MJ is number 1, but come on. I don't even like LeBron. But calling it 'worshipping' to talk about LeBron being so great is hilarious. And yes, LeBron lite would still be one of the best players to ever play the game. So would Michael Jordan lite.

[NewKnicks]

Randle is a Jimmy Butler level star.

How far has Jimmy taken teams? Not a good comparison at all. It's just one year that Randle has played this way. And on team that has little talent across the board compared to rest of the league. Stop with that. Jimmy Butler is a true winning superstar. Randle hasn't done chit in terms of winning.

The comparisons on this board are really getting out of hand.

You need to calm your biatch azz down. The next time you address me it needs to be respectfully

Okay, dude. I don't need 'to do' anything. This is just a f*ckin message board with fans commenting. I didn't 'disrespect you' (which I find hilarious that you're worried about being respected on some message board).

You claiming that Julius is in the same boat as Jimmy Butler is comical.

Don't disrespect me by telling me to 'calm my biatch azz down'. Now that is disrespectful.

You don't have any 'street cred' (on a message board of all things) because you write some crazy messages about Randle being a next level star in the game and in the same category as Jimmy, sorry bud.

[KnixtapeH20]

I think Randle can be a LeBron lite if you give him another bona-fide star where it's not all on him. I do think he can be a number one option (if he continues this high level of play) if we had a true point, better spacing, better shooting and a proven backup so he doesn't have to play 48 minutes a night... This man is exhausted every game and that's with elite conditioning.

Get this man some help. Elfrid hurts his game so much. All he does is play hot potato behind the 3 pt line because he knows he cant shoot. And then he's too score first when he's not. Elfrid helps nobody on the team.

Ideally you would love to pair Randle with someone like Kawhi and have Randle the secondary-ish, play off option but I think Randle has shown he's on his way to becoming one of the best players in the league.

Our team is not that far away from serious contention honestly but we need to add and subtract pieces.

He already is Lebron lite

Can we stop with the Lebron comparisons?? Holy chit I feel like I'm in an alternate universe when I'm reading these comparisons on a lot of our threads. He hasn't won ANYTHING yet. Nothing. Isn't that what matters? So he's the best player on a .500 team. That's it, at the moment. Don't misunderstand me, he's having an incredible year. But it's only one year, and previous to this he's never been close to the level he's playing at right now.

Bro u buggin for no reason. Most ppl are saying if he continues at this level of play. He's showing no signs of slowing down or that this all-star season is an anomaly.

More importantly he's becoming a TEAM leader and a guy other players rally around and look up to. The LeBron comparisons are valid because he's running the offense, getting everyone else involved, leading the team in assists, shooting threes, taking it to the baja, getting to the foul line... All while leading the team and league in minutes played, hitting clutch free throws and clutch shots.

Randle is a DOG, bully bball at its finest.

[NewKnicks]

He already is Lebron lite

Can we stop with the Lebron comparisons?? Holy chit I feel like I'm in an alternate universe when I'm reading these comparisons on a lot of our threads. He hasn't won ANYTHING yet. Nothing. Isn't that what matters? So he's the best player on a .500 team. That's it, at the moment. Don't misunderstand me, he's having an incredible year. But it's only one year, and previous to this he's never been close to the level he's playing at right now.

Bro u buggin for no reason. Most ppl are saying if he continues at this level of play. He's showing no signs of slowing down or that this all-star season is an anomaly.

More importantly he's becoming a TEAM leader and a guy other players rally around and look up to. The LeBron comparisons are valid because he's running the offense, getting everyone else involved, leading the team in assists, shooting threes, taking it to the baja, getting to the foul line...

The LeBron comparisons are valid? Okay, I don't have the energy to continue. You win. Julius is becoming the next LeBron right before our eyes.

[KnixtapeH20]

Can we stop with the Lebron comparisons?? Holy chit I feel like I'm in an alternate universe when I'm reading these comparisons on a lot of our threads. He hasn't won ANYTHING yet. Nothing. Isn't that what matters? So he's the best player on a .500 team. That's it, at the moment. Don't misunderstand me, he's having an incredible year. But it's only one year, and previous to this he's never been close to the level he's playing at right now.

Bro u buggin for no reason. Most ppl are saying if he continues at this level of play. He's showing no signs of slowing down or that this all-star season is an anomaly.

More importantly he's becoming a TEAM leader and a guy other players rally around and look up to. The LeBron comparisons are valid because he's running the offense, getting everyone else involved, leading the team in assists, shooting threes, taking it to the baja, getting to the foul line...

The LeBron comparisons are valid? Okay, I don't have the energy to continue. You win. Julius is becoming the next LeBron right before our eyes.

I guess you just read w.e narrative you want and u run with it.

Nobody said anything to that extent but its cool

And I said Lebron-lite

[NewKnicks]

Bro u buggin for no reason. Most ppl are saying if he continues at this level of play. He's showing no signs of slowing down or that this all-star season is an anomaly.

More importantly he's becoming a TEAM leader and a guy other players rally around and look up to. The LeBron comparisons are valid because he's running the offense, getting everyone else involved, leading the team in assists, shooting threes, taking it to the baja, getting to the foul line...

The LeBron comparisons are valid? Okay, I don't have the energy to continue. You win. Julius is becoming the next LeBron right before our eyes.

I guess you just read w.e narrative you want and u run with it.

Nobody said anything to that extent but its cool

And I said Lebron-lite

It's cool dude. I wasn't talking to you directly in my last post. You did say Lebron lite. I'm only saying that we should probably choose a different player when we're coming up with comparisons. I'm guessing you might agree with that.

[KnixtapeH20]

The LeBron comparisons are valid? Okay, I don't have the energy to continue. You win. Julius is becoming the next LeBron right before our eyes.

I guess you just read w.e narrative you want and u run with it.

Nobody said anything to that extent but its cool

And I said Lebron-lite

It's cool dude. I wasn't talking to you directly in my last post. You did say Lebron lite. I'm only saying that we should probably choose a different player when we're coming up with comparisons. I'm guessing you might agree with that.

I mean I just used LeBron bc they have very similar games and body types. Lebron is obviously a super high flyer but they both facilitate, rebound like a demon, fade-away, post up, shoot the 3 at a high clip -- Randle just been improving across the board.

So much fun to watch. He's not even at his peak yet. I believe he can add more to his game with better players around him.

His defense under Thibs really shows he's up to the challenge against any big.

[GONYK]

Not disagreeing, but I don't think it would really matter even if he couldn't. We're not contending yet & Julius is having a big impact on our kids' development, which should be our priority right now. So even if Randle needed to eventually be upgraded upon for us to take that step, he still would have a very important role to play in the interim.

I'd like to see us giving him a raise this summer; something like waiving him so he can bank that 4m as an unofficial bonus, before re-signing him to a 3 year deal for around 75M.

Why would we do that instead of reaping the benefits of having him at $20M and seeing if he can sustain his level of play?

To get 2 more seasons of control for just 5M more per year...and so avoid having to make a decision on max'ing him until 2024. Especially since there's not going to be much in FA for us to save our money for this summer & 5m won't make or break usin 2022 if we roll our cap space over instead of signing someone like Trent or Horton-Tucker.

I guess I question why Julius would ever accept a marginal pay raise coming off of the season he's having

[Jalen Bluntson]

No one saw this coming. Melo would even admit that. I liked Julius when we got him....hated him last year. Expected more of the same this year. Low IQ spin cycle was his forte all year.

This season is definitely an eye opener. Could he be making this leap or is it feasting on a bad team? Looks to be making the leap and I am hopeful it is for real because...we usually trade players who become better elsewhere. This is a pleasant surprise. Keep it up and we pick up the option. Good place to be for a change.

I saw him continuing his solid play under Miller and taking another leap under Thibs. Always thought he had star potential, so I’m not too surprised to be honest.

I didn't notice much if a difference under Miller so... I'm surprised at the difference from this year to last. I liked him when we signed him. Was hoping to see us make a good move but.... I couldn't stand then way he played most of the year.

You stood your ground and he definitely seems to be worth the wait. 29 games of stud play. Hope it continues.

[cgf]

I love this mentioning Randle in the conversation versus 1/2 best players in the history of the league. Even LeBron lite would be one of the best players ever to play.

LeBron-lite means a worse player with a similar game/style-of-play; it says nothing about how much worse. This LeBron worship is getting obscene

LeBron worship? Are you serious? I still think MJ is number 1, but come on. I don't even like LeBron. But calling it 'worshipping' to talk about LeBron being so great is hilarious. And yes, LeBron lite would still be one of the best players to ever play the game. So would Michael Jordan lite.

That's a silly thing to say when we've had tons of MJ- & LeBron-lites who weren't even stars, nevermind one of the best to ever play the game. Those comps are about how a player plays, rather than how well they play that style.