Getty Julius Randle of the New York Knicks dribbles against Romeo Langford of the Boston Celtics.
While New York Knicks trade rumors have largely been revolving around the idea of the franchise pursuing perennial All-Star Donovan Mitchell this summer, since being dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1 the focus has seemingly shifted to a previously pondered concept — parting ways with Julius Randle.
Coming off of a lackluster campaign where he finished as the most inefficient top-tier scoring option in the association, the once beloved power forward is now viewed as public enemy number one by the majority of the fanbase and, being that he’s under contract for four more seasons at a paygrade of $117 million, many are hoping to now see him be placed on the block.
With this, media pundits, as well as the franchise’s faithful followers, have seemingly been non-stop thinking up ways in which the Knicks could go about trading Randle at some point during this league year, and a popular landing spot for the former All-Star as of late seems to be the Hornets.
After finishing with a surprising record of 43-39 and just missing out on the playoffs last year, this offseason Charlotte hasn’t done much to help better position themselves for greater success come 2022-23 as they made no splashy transactions and their decision to not re-sign Miles Bridges.
Considering the fact that they’re an up-and-coming team being led by a 21-year-old budding superstar point guard in LaMelo Ball, who has already stated the team needs to look into acquiring more frontcourt talents, their lack of activity could be perceived as a bit concerning.
However, some have made the argument that a trade for the Knicks’ power forward could be a solid option for the Hornets to now consider, and CBS Sports reporter Sam Quinn recently concocted a trade via a Twitter post on September 8 that he believes could be worthwhile for both ball clubs.
New York Knicks receive:
- Gordon Hayward
Charlotte Hornets receive:
- Julius Randle
- Cam Reddish
From a talent perspective to the financial impacts, Quinn believes that the transaction could be a win-win for the two parties involved.
Randle Would Replace Bridges
After having been arrested on July 1 for intimate partner violence with injury, fourth-year power forward and restricted free agent Miles Bridges lost out on signing “a maximum — or near-max” contract extension with the Hornets, per Shams Charania, and remains unsigned on the free agency market.
In all likelihood, Charlotte and the 24-year-old are not going to be reuniting at any point in the near future, thus leaving an even greater need for frontcourt bolstering.
Quinn, along with a slew of other pundits believes that trading for Randle could be a simple and easy way of filling this need within the rotation.
At 27 years old, the 2021 All-NBA selection is young enough to fit in with the team’s youth movement yet seasoned enough to help them with their clear lack of experience (average age of their current roster is 24.5).
With Randle in the mix, Charlotte would be adding a 20-plus point per game scorer from over the last five seasons into their already impressive rotation while essentially “buying-low” on a player who, just two seasons ago, was deemed the NBA’s Most Improved Player and finished within the top-10 of the league’s MVP race.
Trade Would Help Knicks’ Youth
With his trade proposal, Quinn focused heavily on the impact that this trade would have on the New York Knicks, particularly when it comes to some of the team’s younger players as it would create new opportunities for them in the rotation that, with Randle in tow, they currently don’t have.
“Obi gets the starting job I think many of us feel he deserves,” Quinn wrote. “Reddish gets another chance at minutes in Charlotte, and with Hayward gone, there’ll be opportunities at SF for the Hornets. Knicks were interested in Hayward as a free agent two years ago.”
Toppin is someone who has only proven capable of excelling when given a bigger role within Thibodeau’s system, particularly when in the starting lineup as he boasts stellar per-game averages of 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and just shy of a block on 57% shooting from the floor and 43.6% shooting from deep in such a role.
As for the acquisition of Hayward, back on August 20 an anonymous Eastern Conference executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney that the $120 million sharpshooter could be viewed as a “Plan B” option for the Knicks should they fail to acquire Donovan Mitchell.
Despite the fact that he’s played over 52 games just once since his 2016-17 All-Star campaign due to varying injuries, when present on the floor Hayward is still a high-end talent in the league.
Since signing with the Hornets back in November of 2020 the small forward has managed to produce admirably, posting impressive per-game averages of 17.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals on 46.6% shooting from the floor and 40.2% shooting from deep.