Julius Randle has had a spectacular breakout season with the New York Knicks this season. Randle got an All-Star selection, made an All-NBA team, and won the Most Improved Player award all in one season. He is the first star to bring them to the playoffs in quite some time, and even if he didn’t have the best playoff run, the New York Knicks felt that it was prudent to reward him with an extension.
The extension for Randle totaled $114 million over four years. The report from when he was signed suggested that Randle could have opted to re-sign next season instead, and gotten a $200 million deal. However, Randle chose the route that would give the team more flexibility. In a recent interview with Ian Begley of SNY, Randle revealed that part of the reason he left money on the table is due to his belief that it will pay off in the future.
Julius Randle says NYK’s culture of family/trust was a factor in why he agreed to the extension: “Even if I left money on the table, I trust in the long run that it’s going to pay off. I trust Leon, I trust Wes, I trust Scott, Thibs, all those guys.” More: pic.twitter.com/Rwka4VNL7a
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) August 27, 2021
The biggest thing is the culture. That was part of the reason why I took the deal, was the culture… We’re all a family, we enjoy being around each other. We have the trust. Even if I left money on the table, I trust in the long run that it’s going to pay off. I trust Leon, I trust Wes, I trust Scott, Thibs, all those guys that they’re gonna give us the best possible chance and put us the best possible position now, and in the future to bring a championship to the Knicks. That’s what it’s about. I don’t know if I can make that commitment anywhere else.
It seems as though Julius Randle truly believes in the New York Knicks being able to be competitive currently and in the future, and hopefully, that will be the case. The Knicks brought in some more scoring to the team with their signings of Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker, and they should have more firepower next season to supplement Randle. The New York Knicks made the playoffs this year: the step to take next year would be winning a series and getting further in the postseason, and perhaps with Julius Randle leading the charge, they’ll be able to do that.
