Things have not gone well for Julius Randle this season. Should the Knicks consider moving him in the near future?
The Hard Knocks
After such a promising season for Julius Randle last season, it seems like everything has fallen apart for him this year. And matters have gotten worse as of late. Remember what happened just a few weeks ago? Randle responded to being booed by Knicks fans with a thumbs down gesture. That came during a home game against the Boston Celtics. Recently, it was reported that Randle allegedly had a Knicks fan removed from the building during a road game against the Miami Heat for heckling him.
Randle’s actions are just the icing on the cake to the nightmare season he’s been having. His numbers are down across the board in comparison to last season. And he hasn’t been able to find any consistency offensively. This is not a good situation for the Knicks organization right now. Especially after signing Randle to a 4 year/$117 million dollar extension in the offseason. Yes, Randle has come out and stated that he’s fully committed to this team. But, it’s only a matter of time before this issue gets worse if the losing continues.
Trade Possibilities
As of now, even though rumors have circulated about Randle getting traded before the deadline, it would be ridiculous for the Knicks to trade him away this season. There’s no way you can make such an investment into a player that has shown you how good he can be and just trade him during the first year of his deal. Plus, there’s a chance that this roster can improve before the tradeline. According to sources, the Knicks are open to trades. That includes moving Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, and Alec Burks to try to strengthen the back court. If executed correctly, the Knicks can possibly add a couple pieces that can help them make a run to the playoffs.
Ultimately, it’s all about a matter of timing. Moving on from Julius Randle is something that the Knicks shouldn’t think about doing now. But maybe they should consider keeping it in the back of their minds if things continue to go south for him and the team in the future. If this is still an issue beyond this season, then a decision will have to be made but for now, just give the guy a chance to make it right. It wasn’t long ago when he took this team out of a 8-year playoff drought. He deserves some time to change it around, but not too much time.
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