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With the playoffs finally underway, New York Knicks fans are watching from the sidelines, trying to make sense of what went wrong this season.
While introspectively searching, Julius Randle’s name will likely feature in a plethora of reasons behind the Knicks’ recent failures. Fairly or unfairly, Randle has shouldered a large portion of the blame this season, and it would seem his long-term future on the roster is slowly becoming untenable.
Unfortunately for Randle, and Knicks fans, the 27-year-old forward signed a contract extension before the season began, and is set to start the first year of his new deal in the coming months. So, if New York does decide to move off of Randle’s contract, they’re going to struggle in finding a willing trade partner.
That’s why Sam Quinn of CBS Sports believes that the Knicks could find themselves involved in trade talks with the Los Angeles Lakers in the coming weeks, as the teams discuss a potential deal to send Randle back to the team who drafted him in return for Russell Westbrook.
“The Knicks have the same problem with Julius Randle that the Heat has with Butler: A hefty extension that hasn’t even begun is already looking like a possible mistake. Unlike the Heat, who have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks are out of the playoffs. Miami would be sacrificing genuine championship equity by giving up Butler. The Knicks would be sacrificing the vibes of a former No. 4 seed.
If they can get off of Randle and hand the power forward position over to Obi Toppin, they probably should. Throw in some combination of Evan Fournier, Kemba Walker, and Nerlens Noel for good measure and you’ve got yourself a decent smorgasbord of role players for the Lakers,” Quinn wrote.
Of course, the easiest line of reasoning in making this move for the Knicks is that they get a high-level point guard, open up starting minutes for Obi Toppin, and get to move off somebody like Evan Fournier in the process.
Acquring Westbrook Resets the Books
When you think of Russell Westbrook, the first thing that stands out is his enormous contract. The 33-year-old guard is set to earn $47 million next season once he opts into his player option – that’s a lot of money for a guard who can’t stretch the floor and has proven incapable of playing second-fiddle to other stars on a teams roster.
Luckily for New York, Westbrook would be their primary star player, and that’s always when he performs at an optimum level. Sure, RJ Barrett and Toppin are on their way to earning star status, but that is still another year or two away. Still, the yearly salary is a lot to commit yourself to, but when there’s only one year left of the contract, you can talk yourself into the long-term value.
Right now, the Knicks are committed to Randle for the next four years to the tune of $117 million. Should they trade him to the Lakers for Westbrook, they would become a cap space team again at the end of the 2022-23 season and could begin to recruit free agents that compliment Barrett and Toppin to Maddison Square Garden.
Factor in the additional salaries the Knicks would need to include in any Westbrook deal, and suddenly, you’re fairly close to a max contract spot, which is ideal when moving towards a deep free-agent class.
Randle Could Still Re-Discover Form
Ok, so Randle had a down year in terms of effort, production, and on-court commitment. But, the season prior, he was the primary reason the Knicks found their way back to the post-season, and all of New York had his back.
There’s every reason to believe that the Texas native is capable of hitting those heights again and that the Knicks’ best chance at success next season is by fixing the rotational players around him. Kemba Walker, Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, each of those players have reasons to be moved on this off-season, as do multiple other end-of-bench guys.
Perhaps it’s worth keeping Randle around for another year to see if this past season was just a blip on the radar. But, there are risks associated with keeping the six-foot-eight forward beyond this off-season, the most notable being his value. Should Randle lay another goose egg, then New York will have to sweeten any deal to get him off the books, likely with draft assets.
Whereas moving the Kentucky production this off-season could give the Knicks the point guard they so desperately need, and a shot at the genuine high-level talent in the subsequent free-agency pool. It seems like Leon Rose and William Wesley have a tough decision to make in the coming weeks, one that could make or break the Knicks’ immediate future.
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