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The New York Knicks have had a pretty good offseason so far as they snagged Jalen Brunson from the Dallas Mavericks, extended RJ Barrett, and they are currently engaged in talks that would bring Donovan Mitchell to town.
Even if they don’t land Mitchell in the end, this offseason will still most likely be viewed as a success from the Brunson signing alone. With that said, some of the current roster is still raising eyebrows, and Julius Randle, in particular, is one who catches a lot of flack.
After being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, an All-Star, and a member of the All-NBA team, Randle had a rough season last year. His numbers were still solid, but his shooting efficiency slipped across the board and the Knicks failed to make the playoffs.
The former number seven pick in the draft flashed moments of brilliance throughout his career, but it hasn’t stopped Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey from naming Randle one of the most overrated players from the last 10 years.
Randle Makes Dubious List
Bailey lists five players on his overrated list, and it might be shocking to see Randle make it here considering he’s just been a one-time All-Star and he’s never exactly been overpaid, unless his four-year, $117 million extension counts toward that.
Instead of looking at the raw numbers, Bailey looks at how Randle has performed on and off the court, and while he puts up decent numbers, the stats show his teams do seem to be better when he’s off the floor.
“Randle posted a 3.8 box plus/minus in 2020-21,” Bailey wrote. “His career high prior to that was 1.5, and he’d been below-average in three of the seven seasons in which he played at least 1,000 minutes. Even with his All-NBA campaign factored in, Randle’s career net rating is minus-4.6. His teams are a more respectable minus-1.3 when he’s off the floor.”
This might be unfair to Randle considering he’s never really been on great teams, but the proof in the pudding here. Perhaps this upcoming year could be a way of getting that plus/minus stat on the right side as he’ll be surrounded with a lot more talent.
Rounding out the list of most overrated players are Avery Bradley, Jamal Crawford, DeAndre Jordan and DeMar DeRozan.
Things will get even better for him if Mitchell comes to town.
Latest on Mitchell
Acquiring Donovan Mitchell will certainly be the easiest path forward to ease the burden on Randle. Last season, Randle spent a lot of the team controlling the offense, and a lot of that had to do with not having a true point guard on the team for much of the season.
Brunson will offset that in the next season, and adding Mitchell would help too. Despite RJ Barrett’s extension, there’s still a good chance a deal could get done, despite being more difficult now.
“There’s still a pathway,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said. “It’s more complicated, but RJ Barrett now, four years, nearly $120 million. [He] averaged 20 points in his third season in New York. He could still be a part of the package, it just becomes more complicated for New York and Utah to do a Donovan Mitchell trade.”
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