Getty The star duo of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle may not work together.
The New York Knicks find themselves sitting at 10-12 on the season as we enter December, sitting firmly as the 10th seed in the deep Eastern Conference.
If that manages to hold over the course of the season, that would make the team play-in eligible, but they wouldn’t be expected to progress very far into the postseason if that happens.
Jalen Brunson has been worth everything the Knicks have paid him, but the same can’t be said of fellow stars Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. Barrett signed a big contract extension before the season after Donovan Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers, and he became the first first-rounder drafted by the team to do so this century.
With Barrett and Randle both making over $100 million now, there are going to be more eyeballs on them, and some fans are coming to the conclusion the pair just don’t work together.
The Knicks Wall writer Mike Cortez went as far as saying the pair have to be broken up for the team to move forward.
Time to Make a Change?
NEW FROM TKW 🚨
We‘ve all seen enough by now, and so should the Knicks front office.
It’s time to face the truth: Julius Randle & RJ Barrett just don’t work together.
It’s time to break up the band, @CortezEra says something’s gotta give:
Of the two, Barrett is the young player and arguably the one with the most upside, but it also looks like he may have hit a wall. He’s never been an efficient scorer, and that has continued into his fourth season as he is only hitting 40.6 percent of his shots. To make matters even worse, he’s only knocking down 28.1 percent of his shots from three.
Randle is having a much better season than his previous one, and he finds himself more in line with his All-NBA season, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot if the team isn’t winning.
“At the end of the day, both deliver results, sometimes with ugly shooting numbers behind them,” Cortez writes. “But most importantly, neither are consistent enough to justify keeping the other. Despite their redundancies, Randle and Barrett could coexist if one was a no-doubt 25-plus point scorer every night. That is the type of player the front office hoped Randle, who did it for one season, and then Barrett heading into this season, could be. It was that thinking that landed Brunson.”
Barrett and Randle are inconsistent, something that is difficult to work with for a team that’s looking to compete for the playoffs. With a lot of money tied up in the two players, the most logical path forward would be breaking them up to find a way to get somebody who would fit better.
“The Knicks took a measured shot on Randle and Barrett as a nucleus for a contending team,” Cortez continues. “It didn’t go as it initially seemed it would go. The worst thing the team could be now is stubborn.”
What Can They Do?
Making a trade is easier said than done, but there are some avenues that could explored. Randle could be the most movable out of Randle and Barrett considering his track record and the stats he puts up along with the strong season he’s having.
There have been proposals that would see him landing with the Lakers, but that’s far from a guarantee.
As it stands right now, if no move is made then Barrett and Randle will be rocking Knicks jerseys for the next several seasons, and if Barrett doesn’t make another leap, it looks like the squad will be stuck in mediocrity.
There was some reported interest about the Lakers reacquiring Randle, the team that originally drafted him, but those hopes were dashed back in August.
“The Lakers aren’t interested in taking back Julius Randle from the Knicks, considering his contract (three years plus a player option on the fourth year) and less-than-ideal fit with Davis and James,” reported The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
Since they appeared to be the clear trade candidate, the Knicks will either have to explore other options or stick with Randle for the remainder of the season.
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Knicks Urged to ‘Face the Truth’ About Star Duo