NY Knicks: Why extending Julius Randle is an easy decision

The year is 2021, the NY Knicks are in the playoffs and they have a 26-year-old all-star named Julius Randle leading the charge. Randle has been the leader of a young New York team that not only exceeded their lowly preseason expectations but finds itself with the potential to have homecourt advantage in a playoff series. This has been a crazy year.

Julius Randle’s transformation has coincided with the Knicks’ transformation. On the 2nd year of his 3-year 62.1 million dollar contract, Randle has asserted himself as the leader of the current team and potentially their leader for the future. There is now a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that New York plans to discuss an extension with Julius Randle in the offseason. 

Julius Randle has been the player the NY Knicks have been waiting for

Turning the New York Knicks into a contender has always seemed like the most daunting assignment in all of American sports. A city with an enormous, passionate fanbase that has been so important to basketball, that has been so deprived of anything close to winning and functionality and is desperate for a change. Julius Randle has not just handled the outside factors of playing for New York, he’s fully embraced the challenge.

Let’s just lay it out simply: The NY Knicks have an elite player at the center of a winning season who’s just entering his prime and loves being here.

So what would a contract extension look like?