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In the wake of criticism for his role in an altercation with New York Knicks teammate Immanuel Quickley, Julius Randle donated $880,000 to a local school on March 28, saying it was “so important” to perform such an act in New York.
“[The city] is home for me,” Randle, a Dallas native who has played for the Knicks since 2019, told SNY. “It’s a place where I’ve really established as home. My family is comfortable [here]. I really want to be a part of the city and give back and show the city love. … Any way I can help and give back to the city I’m willing to do.”
As part of his “30 for 3” program, Randle pledged earlier in the season to donate $500 for every 3-pointer made in 2022-23 to the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, a two-year-old institution in the Bronx named for the Hall of Famer. He said it’s “amazing” to be able to work with Monroe, whom the power forward described as “a legend to the game, to the Knicks, everything.”
Julius Randle Opens Up on Altercation With Knicks, Quickley
A day earlier, Randle discussed the March 23 on-court altercation, which saw Randle get into Quickley’s face after Quickley appeared to attempt to separate his teammate from an argument with an official at the end of the first half of the Knicks’ 111-106 loss to the Orlando Magic.
“What happens within our team happens within our team,” Randle told reporters. “I’m not going to speak on specifics of how we handled things, but at the end of the day, we’re a team. We’re good, and we’re just focused on winning.”
But Randle has faced criticism from pundits who’ve suggested that the Knicks were not ready to make a deep run in the playoffs.
“You need your best player to play their best when their best is needed and the only way to do that is if you have mental strength,” ESPN’s Stan Van Gundy said on “The Michael Kay Show.”
In a March 5 story in The New York Post, Marc Berman that “Randle’s overall psyche is of concern inside the Knicks organization, according to an NBA source.”
Quickley also had a statement on the matter, though he played things close to the vest by noting that they were just “trying to win.”
Truth Bomb Dropped on Obi Toppin’s ‘Existence’ With Knicks
ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently issued a bold statement regarding big man Obi Toppin, suggesting that his Knicks tenure appears destined to be short-lived.
“Toppin is eligible for an extension this summer, but it’s hard to see any marriage here,” Lowe wrote in his latest ’10 Things’ column. “Toppin’s entire existence is running around for two short stints, jacking a few open 3s and retiring to the bench,” Lowe writes. “If he makes a couple of threes, he helped. If he goes 0-of-4, you forget he played. He has no chance to establish rhythm.”
Now in his third season, Obi Toppin, the eighth overall pick in 2020, has seemingly become a permanent afterthought within the Knicks rotation, as his numbers have dipped virtually all across the board when compared with last season.
Through 61 games played in 2022-23, the 25-year-old holds averages of 6.3 points and 2.8 rebounds on 41.7% shooting while registering just 14.4 minutes a night.
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