New York Knicks: Julius Randle Should Still Get a Max Contract Extension

New York Knicks: Julius Randle’s relatively low value

A fair amount of fans don’t want the front office to extend Randle anymore because they don’t believe he can be the top option on a championship team. While that may be true, that shouldn’t stop the front office from extending him.

NBA fans often get nervous when they hear the term “max contract” but that number is often different for players with certain accolades and years of NBA experience. For example, the max extension that Knicks can offer Julius Randle this summer works out to be 4 years and $106 million.

This would kick in after the next season, starting around $24 million with roughly 8% salary increases each year. For context, that “max contract” would make Randle just the 43rd highest-paid player in the league.

He would be earning less on an annual basis than other secondary options such as CJ McCollum, Jrue Holiday, and Bam Adebayo. Randle might be just the second or third best player on a potential Knicks championship contender, but it doesn’t matter as much when his contract extension will be paying him like one.

After suiting up for three separate teams over the past four seasons, Randle is likely looking for a place to settle down for a while and would be happy to accept another 4 years playing for the team that he wants to retire for.

It would also be wise to get this extension done as soon as possible.