After a report was released by 98.7 FM Arizona’s John Gambadoro that stated the Phoenix Suns are potentially looking to trade for a “post-up power forward”, many New York Knicks fans believe they could try to trade for Julius Randle.
While Randle may not be the most post-up type of player, he certainly has the skillset to succeed in that role if he were to buy into it. Honestly, it would be rather interesting to see the kind of deal these two teams could make in a potential Randle deal, as it really depends on how much the Suns value the 27-year-old forward.
Hearing the Suns will now turn their attention to try and obtain a post-up Power Forward. They have the cap-payer exception still available to them.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) August 23, 2022
Latest report states suggests Suns could be interested in Knicks’ Julius Randle
It is currently unknown as to whether or not the Knicks are looking to trade Julius Randle or not at this time. Personally, I don’t think they are, or that they should be at this moment. However, the possibility of a trade could become more real as time goes on.
I doubt the Suns would be willing to move players like Mikal Bridges or even Cam Johnson for Randle. However, the Knicks still could get some value in the form of cap space from expiring contracts such as Jae Crowder, which probably won’t happen knowing his history with the Knicks. Or maybe even Dario Saric combined with the contract of Landry Shamet, although I personally would not trade for any of these players due to their fit and the log jam at their positions.
This is what a potential trade between the two teams could look like. It is quite a weird deal, as the Knicks would likely buyout either Saric or Crowder in order to free up space at the four or five position. However, it is the best deal to make salaries match, while also giving New York future picks and cap space.
I’m not saying that I would necessarily do this trade (I wouldn’t), but this is what we could see if a deal was to go down before the season started.
The only player who is on an expiring contract that would really fit with the Knicks is Crowder, but I doubt fans want to see him play for the team.
Maybe the Suns would be willing to move on from Johnson, who is an elite three-point shooter that would fit tremendously on New York. However, I question their willingness to move on from such a valuable player for the team.
In all honesty, the Suns may not be looking to trade for Randle at all. It is just very interesting to think about the potential deals that could go down between the two teams. At first, I didn’t even think about Randle in this situation once reading the report. However, the flock of Knicks fans jokingly suggesting a Randle trade perked up my interest.
20/10/5 @Suns pic.twitter.com/FfKXAgDifZ
— Akiva (@Kivi015) August 23, 2022
Again, I personally would rather wait to trade Randle, as I believe there is still a huge chance that he turns things around this season. Despite this though, I would not be surprised if New York felt differently than I and moved on from the former All-Star in order to acquire more assets, cap space, or young talent.
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