3 players that the Knicks could end up trading in 2022-23
1: Julius Randle
Whether it be his horrifically inefficient scoring, lack of effort on defense, emotional outbursts, or just the fact that he is taking away minutes from Obi Toppin, many Knicks fans have wanted to see Randle traded since the mid-point of last season after it became clear that he was not the same player he was in 2020-21.
Despite his stat line of 20.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 5.1 APG, Randle was often more of a negative on the floor than a positive. His shooting splits of 41.1% from the field and 30.8% from three, alongside his 3.4 turnovers per game compared to 5.1 assists per game, ruined what could’ve been a great stat line.
This isn’t even talking about his defense. While Randle was a very solid defender in 2020-21, his effort massively fell off in 2021-22, making him often a liability on that side of the ball.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe Randle still has a chance to improve his play and move into a more off-ball style of play being used as a slasher. However, if this does not change and he continues to play as he has in two out of his three seasons with the Knicks, then I believe it would be best for Randle to be traded.
In addition to Randle’s play, New York should look to trade him to free up minutes for Obi Toppin, who had several moments at the end of last season in which he proved he can be a valuable player if given the minutes.
While Randle’s value is likely at an all-time low, the Knicks could use him as a potential salary dump to free up cap space to re-sign some of the young players on the team.
I still believe in Julius Randle, however, he has had two bad seasons out of the three he has been with the team. While he could still hold value as an off-ball slasher, he has not played like this in three seasons, and I’m not sure if he would be willing to accept this role. If he does, good on him, as he not only would provide value, but he would also likely earn the respect of the fans back.
