It has not been a smooth ride for anyone who has been associated with the New York Knicks over the last 2 decades. Whether it be owner James Dolan or the executives or coaches or star players, everyone has felt the wrath of the fanbase at some point or the other. Success has been incredibly hard to come by in a market that is desperate for the glory days to return and, as the team keeps failing to deliver, the frustration just keeps growing.
Their failed pursuit of Donovan Mitchell is the latest example of the Knicks failing to get the job done, as Mitchell joined the list of stars who they have failed to acquire over the years. Fans like Fat Joe aren’t too happy at the moment as he lamented the fact they had no superstars on the team during an appearance on Knicks Fan TV, and he took shots at two of the big names who have suited up for the team in the past decade.
Fat Joe Took Huge Shots At Carmelo Anthony And Julius Randle
Carmelo Anthony and Julius Randle are among the handful of players over the last decade to have been named an All-Star while playing for the Knicks but they both are flawed in certain ways and except for a season or two, weren’t able to lead the team to any kind of success. While discussing the Knicks’ failures over recent times, Fat Joe pointed out just how Melo and Randle present the same issue to their team while on the court.
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“Melo is a black hole, he is my brother, but Melo is just like Randle, and I love Randle. I mean, everybody might be mad at me after this show right here but f**k it, let’s do it. Randle, if the ball is being moved and they are doing great, he is a black hole. He wants to sit there and hog the ball, do a little drop step, and shoot the s**t. That is the same s**t Melo was doing. Whenever everybody is moving around, ya’ll like hold-up let me get there, let me get it, let me get my buckets.”
That is perhaps some fair criticism that they both hog the ball, which means there is no ball movement. That is just how Melo played though, as he was a true isolation scorer, but that way of playing just wasn’t going to help the Knicks win and we saw that too, as they only really had one good season with him in 2012-13.
Randle is in a similar territory for now, as he did lead the team to a surprise playoff berth in 2021, but they fell apart in an equally surprising fashion this past season. The Knicks seem open to trading him as well, but nothing has happened yet, so Randle will have a chance to right the wrongs of last season and perhaps win over the fans as he did in the 2020-21 campaign.