New York Knicks: A Public Apology to Julius Randle

Dear Julius Deion Randle,

A strong apology needs to be as loud and as public as the initial insult, and we insulted you, Julius Randle. Plain and simple.

The worst kinds of apologies are the ones that begin with the person who wronged you essentially blaming you for their abhorrent behavior.

I hate those apologies.

But I’m going to do it anyway here, Julius.

The Knicks’ fanbase as well as us here at Daily Knicks all have some explaining to do in regards to how we’ve treated Julius Randle

See, we had been lead to believe as a fanbase that the summer of 2019 was going to be when the New York Knicks finally made their big free agency splash. You’ll have to excuse our frustration toward you when the top free agent we landed was a guy coming off of a very respectable season on a 33-win team. Signing you wasn’t quite what we had been sold.

That doesn’t excuse our behavior, but it is worth noting.

You also didn’t exactly ease those fears last year, Julius. You had an effective field goal percentage under 50%, per Basketball-Reference, but you still took 15 shots per game.

And the turnovers, my god, the turnovers. You averaged the highest number of your career, but they just felt so much worse by the way they came. You probably also had your career-high in spinning into triple-teams, though I’m still looking for the exact stats to confirm this hypothesis.

We know now how much coaching played a factor in 2019, but you still had a role in this as well.

I won’t continue to pile on to what New York Knicks fans thought of you previously. We’re here for an apology, Julius Randle!

Julius, on behalf of New York Knicks fans worldwide, I’m sorry. WE are SORRY!

I’m sorry we wanted you out so badly. I’m sorry that we put you in every fictional trade on NBA Trade Machine. Some trade suggestions were legitimate attempts to improve the team while others were purely attempting to get you gone.

I’m sorry that we devalued you. I’m sorry that we disrespected you. I’m sorry that we distrusted, disavowed, and depreciated you.

And how did you repay us for all that?

By averaging 23.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. You’re one of the few players in the entire league to putting up those numbers this year, and if they hold, you’d be the first Knick to ever do it. You are leading this team–a team that would be in the playoffs if the season ended this second.

Let’s put it like this, the Knicks form like Voltron, and Julius Randle happens to be the head.

An apology without a true dedication to change is an empty cannoli shell. It’s not nothing, but it’s not worth taking the PATH train to Hoboken for it.

So here’s my vow to you, Julius Randle: I promise to vote for you for All-Star as much as humanly possible. I promise to support roster moves that help continue to set you up for the greatest level of success. Finally, I promise to advocate loudly for your option to be picked up when the time comes.

I hope you accept this sincere apology, Julius, and I hope we move forward with a long and fruitful partnership.

Warmest Regards,

New York Knicks Fans