While the world was focused on Karl-Anthony Towns going to the Knicks and what that means for New York as a title contender, there is really a second part of this trade that isn’t receiving anywhere near the same attention in ink. Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle are now with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the latter – a three-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA performer in the last four seasons – seems quite happy to be outside the Big Apple. “You want to be somewhere where you feel wanted. I feel wanted here,” Randle said during an introductory press conference in Minnesota on Thursday, via ESPN. “At this point in my career, I’ve accomplished a lot of great things on an individual level, but I want to win a championship. This is a perfect opportunity to do that.. [The trade] was a breath of fresh air.”
To his credit, he had great individual success in New York, helping the Knicks to three playoff berths after six consecutive absences and a 17- and 29-win season in the two years before he arrived.
During his three best years in New York, he averaged better than 23 points and 10 rebounds. He did so despite seeing constant double teams and driving lanes clogged with cheating defenders entirely unconcerned with non-shooters like Elfrid Payton, R.J Barrett, and Derrick Rose. Randle was overtasked as a No. 1 option. He made the most of it and showed up nearly every single night, playing in more than 89% of Knicks games from 2020-23, but because he was by default the top guy, he also took the worst of the backlash whenever things weren’t going well.
You can understand why he would feel something of a pressure release coming to Minnesota, where he can be the secondary option that he was always better suited being, without the New York fans and media breathing down his neck. To be fair, Randle did not play well in the biggest moments for the Knicks, and he was far from the perfect player in general. He is a ball-stopper and sporadically engaged defender. His limitations as a go-to guy showed up in the first round of the 2021 playoffs when he shot under 30% and committed 23 turnovers as the Knicks were bounced by the Hawks. He still should have been appreciated more than he was for his grit and to accept an over-your-head role from the start after the Knicks missed on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019. Randle brought some much-needed respectability to a Knicks franchise that had become a laughingstock. The team outgrew him, yes.
He then lost any ounce of definition in his role with Jalen Brunson assuming alpha duties, rounded out perfectly by complementary two-way players such as OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. Eventually, he became an obvious candidate for being traded.
That’s tough to deal with when you’ve played so well for a franchise yet are always hearing your name in trade rumors.
Even if that’s not true, you can understand feeling a little unwanted. Hopefully, Randle can find his groove alongside Anthony Edwards and company in Minnesota.
Be the first to comment