Julius Randle shared a post on Instagram with a brief caption thanking New York and the Knicks for the five years he spent with the franchise. Randle was recently traded, along with Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns. Randle will be leaving the franchise he elevated and became an All-Star with.
“NEW YORK! THANK YOU.”
Randle was the key star for the New York Knicks during the resurgent period in the 2020s. After a lackluster 2019-20 NBA season, Randle helped elevate the Knicks to a playoff team in 2021, helping them end a 7-season playoff drought. After this, the Knicks would become a playoff regular, especially after the arrival of Jalen Brunson.
Randle himself took a big leap in his game, becoming a three-time NBA All-Star and making two All-NBA teams during his five-year stint with the New York Knicks. However, it became clear after the arrival of Jalen Brunson that he was the second option on the team at best, and one that the Knicks were looking to move.
While Randle was great during the regular season, it was his underwhelming playoff record with the Knicks that made him a liability to the franchise.
In the two playoff stints he had with the Knicks, Randle averaged 17.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. These numbers in isolation appear great. But a deeper look at the stats tells a different story.
Randle shot just 34.4% from the field, and 28.3% from the three-point line, while turning the ball over 3.9 times per game. If the Knicks were serious about contending for an NBA championship, they had no choice but to get rid of Randle in place of a better, more efficient big man like Karl-Anthony Towns.
Does Julius Randle Make Timberwolves Contenders?
The Minnesota Timberwolves were contenders for the NBA championship prior to the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. They made the conference finals last season for the first time in 20 years and looked primed to be one of the key teams in the stacked Western Conference.
However, trading Karl-Anthony Towns has changed a lot of that. While Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle are great players, they will not be able to make up for what KAT brought to the table. Towns was an excellent three-point shooter and post-scorer, and had improved significantly on defense in the last year.
While Randle is an All-Star, he is not at the same level as Towns, and that difference will be evident in the way the Timberwolves play. The Timberwolves let Towns go because he was due to make a lot of money next season, which would have hampered their team structure and salary cap significantly.
Perhaps the Timberwolves will make the most of their time with Randle, and he uses the motivation of being moved from the Knicks to elevate his game and show the NBA what he can do when not inhibited by the playing style of the Knicks. However, Randle’s shaky playoff performance history must be taken into consideration.
The Timberwolves will still be competitive off the back of Anthony Edwards, but Julius Randle undoubtedly hurts their ability to compete for an NBA championship.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
