There’s no chance Nets would take Julius Randle off Knicks’ hands
The New York Knicks haven’t played basketball in one month and there are still roughly five months left until the start of the 2022-23 season. Time needs to fly by so that the absurd trade proposals can be (momentarily) put to rest.
The proposals to bring Donovan Mitchell to New York make sense because although the Knicks would have to be willing to give up quite a bit, there seems to be a real possibility that it could happen. There have also been Malcolm Brogdon trade rumors floating around, which is reasonable.
Fans don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes in New York, but if a Julius Randle trade is on the horizon, it won’t be to the Brooklyn Nets. Sean Marks and Joe Tsai should be too preoccupied with trying to figure out how to not continue to waste Kevin Durant’s prime to even consider trading for Randle.
His four-year, $117 million extension that he signed last summer will kick in at the start of next year, so it won’t be easy to find a team that’s willing to take on that amount of money for a player who’s coming off a rough season.
A Julius Randle-Ben Simmons wouldn’t be beneficial to the New York Knicks or Nets.
Regardless of how you may feel about Immanuel Quickley, the Knicks are clearly in search of a starting point guard. Even if they aren’t able to land their first option, which is presumably Jalen Brunson, the organization reportedly has its eye on Tyus Jones.
Ben Simmons has popped up in zero credible rumors, which is why the most recent trade proposal from Bleacher Report makes no sense.
"The Knicks are still searching for a franchise point guard, with Simmons potentially being the best available this summer.A healthy Simmons is an elite-level defender and terrific playmaker at 6’11”, someone who could thrive under Tom Thibodeau. Moving off Randle’s contract should be fine by New York, especially with second-year power forward Obi Toppin making a leap last season. A young core featuring Simmons, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Immanuel Quickley, Toppin and others would actually look quite promising."
In this particular proposal, New York would send Randle, Alec Burks, and a second-round pick to the Nets in exchange for Simmons.
The player who hasn’t played since Jun. 20, 2021, and underwent back surgery last Thursday is potentially the best available option for the Knicks? Really? Yes, Simmons is a great defensive player (when he plays), but why would New York take that risk?
And somehow it’s even more incredulous to believe that the solution to Brooklyn’s issues would be to take on Randle. The Nets should want to move on from the endless drama that the team couldn’t escape last year, not welcome another possible source of tension.
Simmons shouldn’t be on the Knicks’ radar, just like Randle (or Burks) shouldn’t be on Brooklyn’s. The offseason is long, but the playoffs haven’t even made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals yet.
Times aren’t desperate, so no desperate measures should be taken. And New York desperately needs rationale.
