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The New York Knicks are in a tricky spot this offseason as they evaluate their team that had an inspiring second-round playoff run without their injured All-Star forward Julius Randle.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Monday, May 20, that teams are monitoring Randle’s situation with the Knicks.
Like their franchise star Jalen Brunson, Randle is eligible for a massive extension this summer. Beginning August 3, the Knicks can offer him a maximum of a four-year, $181.5 million extension if the option is declined, or a three-year $140.3 million extension if he opts in, per ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks.
“Either way, it’s significant money,” Charania said on “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV. “Teams are monitoring the situation for sure because of how [the Knicks] handle that extension situation — if that is a conversation, what transpires I think that will be interesting because when you think about movable assets salaries, obviously Julius Randle has got the number if you are to make a big, big trade.”
According to Charania’s colleague, The Athletics’ Knicks reporter Fred Katz, the “organization is still targeting the upcoming summer as the time to trade for the next big name.”
Julius Randle as Salary Ballast in Star Trade
If the Knicks do not extend Randle, his next season’s $30.3 million cap hit — the final guaranteed money of his current four-year, $117 million deal — could become the salary ballast in a star trade.
Should the Knicks go after Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell if he becomes available, they can offer Randle straight up. If the Phoenix Suns suddenly have a change of heart and break up their Big Three, Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic‘s $19 million (if the Knicks pick up his team option) could get them to match Kevin Durant’s $51.1 million salary or Devin Booker’s $49.3 million salary or even Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns.
Both Booker and Towns were Leon Rose’s former clients when he was still a player-agent at Creative Artists Agency.
Randle and Bogdanovic could also get the Knicks Paul George in an opt-in and trade scenario should he and the Los Angeles Clippers star could not agree to an extension this summer.
The Knicks have eight tradable picks to attach to Randle in a potential trade for a star this offseason.
Run It Back With Julius Randle
Running it back and hoping for a healthy team come next year’s playoffs is a tantalizing possibility for the Knicks, too.
After all, the Knicks looked like a legit title contender in January after trading for OG Anunoby. Albeit, it’s just a small sample size in a blistering 12-2 Knicks run with Randle, Anunoby and Jalen Brunson all healthy.
The Knicks went 28-21, including their second-round playoff run, after Randle dislocated his shoulder on January 27 against the Miami Heat.
There is that big “What if” hanging above the Knicks organization after squandering a 2-0 and 3-2 lead in the second round against the Indiana Pacers.
Could they have gone to the Eastern Conference Finals with a healthy Randle and push or even topple the top-seed Boston Celtics?
If the Knicks strike out on a star trade this summer and do not extend Randle, the three-time All-Star forward could be eligible for a five-year deal worth more than $300 million in 2025 free agency, according to Forbes.
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