Julius Randle had an outstanding 2020-21 season, winning the Most Improved Player award and leading the New York Knicks to the playoffs. That season, Julius Randle put up 24.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 6.0 APG.
This season though Julius Randle has struggled, as have the Knicks. His numbers are down in a lot of areas, and the New York Knicks haven’t been the same team this year despite some additions to their roster in the offseason, sitting at 12th in the Eastern Conference.
There is no doubt that this has been a disappointing season for the team, and it seems as though there is more bad news. Marc Berman of the New York Post has recently claimed that there are some people within the New York Knicks organization that are concerned about Julius Randle’s “overall psyche”.
Randle’s overall psyche is of concern inside the Knicks organization, according to an NBA source.
The source said Randle didn’t come into training camp in the same type of sensational shape as he did last season, before Thibodeau’s first year guiding the Knicks. Perhaps that prevented him from being the type of two-way player — giving energy on both sides of the ball — that he was during his second team All-NBA season.
Randle has seemed angry all year, battling with fans through his “thumbs-down’’ gesture, battling with referees, battling with assistant coaches, battling with Johnson when the Knicks had all the momentum and were on the verge of snapping their six-game slide.
He has been a mystery wrapped in a riddle. Some might suggest he’s jealous of Barrett’s rising stardom. The last six road games, Randle hasn’t participated in the starting lineup introductions, preferring to stay in the back to warm up. By doing so, Randle misses out on the traditional group huddle after the lineups are called. (He participates during home games).
Hopefully, Julius Randle and the New York Knicks are able to resolve those concerns in the future. The Knicks will need Julius Randle at his peak both physically and mentally next season if they want to make the playoffs once again. Julius Randle has stated that he wanted to win a championship in New York previously, and he’ll need to be at his best to take steps towards that goal.
The New York Knicks currently have a promising core of prospects next to Julius Randle, such as RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Hopefully, their young players are able to blossom, and perhaps we’ll see them make some noise in the future.
