Getty Julius Randle of the New York Knicks.
The New York Knicks have made a lot of moves this offseason, and they aren’t done just yet.
After signing Jalen Brunson, many fans would look at the summer as a success already, but the team is looking at acquiring Donovan Mitchell as well to make a whole new backcourt in New York.
Talks have been going quite slow with the Jazz about a Mitchell trade, but there is reason to be optimistic that a deal will get done eventually.
The asking price for Mitchell is a steep one, and don’t expect the Jazz to make it easy for the Knicks. If New York thought this would be a way of shipping highly-paid forward Julius Randle out of town, they have another thing coming.
In fact, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz, Randle’s value is low around the league, and while nobody is hanging up the phone when being asked about him, it seems increasingly unlikely he’ll be moved on from.
Randle Trade Value
A player of Randle’s stature doesn’t come along every day as he is a threat to put up 20/10/5 nightly, but it doesn’t always result in wins.
Last season the Knicks often saw the offense die with the ball in his hands, and the team was a staggering 10 points per 100 possessions worse when he was on the floor according to Katz. That’s clearly not a recipe for success, and it makes the sense the team would try to part ways after a campaign like that. Katz reveals it’s not that simple.
“I can’t speak for all 30 teams,” he said. “Maybe there is a front office I haven’t heard about that is seeking out Randle. But if there were, I would be surprised. It’s not like the Knicks are clinging onto him. If you call them about Randle, they’re listening to your offer.”
As for what a trade could even look like for Randle, Katz believes he couldn’t be a centerpiece in any deal for a star, and predicted that it’d just be a swap for another big contract if one happened.
“If I tuned out of NBA news for a month, returned to learn that the Knicks had traded Randle and had to guess what the trade was, I’d assume they swapped him for another expensive contract — a milder version of all these supermax-for-supermax trades we’ve seen over the past few years,” he wrote.
What makes this all more interesting is Randle’s value being this low doesn’t even have everything to do with his recent production, but more the fact it’s coupled with a big contract that has him signed for four more seasons.
“The four remaining seasons on Randle’s deal have made teams, even ones who believe last season wasn’t representative of who he is, hesitant about acquiring him,” Katz continued. “The Knicks, meanwhile, haven’t been willing to attach a first-rounder or two to send him elsewhere.”
Where Do The Knicks Go Now?
As of right now, it’s looking like the Knicks will have to go into the season with Randle as their starting power forward.
That’s not the worse thing in the world as he was named an All-Star and even made the All-NBA team before last year’s down season. If he can get things turned around efficiency-wise, then the Knicks will be looking good.
Perhaps the acquisition of Brunson and perhaps Mitchell will be able to lighten the load on Randle to make him more productive.
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