Julius Randle spent five productive seasons with the New York Knicks from 2019-20 until 2023-24. The power forward made three All-Star teams in that time and was named the Most Improved Player in 2020–21. Randle was traded late in the 2024 offseason in the deal that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to New York.
The Knicks took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in a preseason game. Of course, Randle played for Minnesota the last two seasons before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets this offseason.
Knicks fans understood what Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was referring to with this pregame quote before Minnesota’s win on Monday:
“We referred to ourselves as a moody team at times in the last couple of years, at times, and it’s probably gotten in our way,” Finch said. “We’ve traded moodiness for giddiness.”
While Finch didn’t mention Randle’s name, and he never said the moodiness came strictly from Randle, there was certainly plenty of moodiness on full display during his New York tenure.
Randle’s moodiness was well-documented in New York
Despite being a star player with the Knicks, Randle was never overwhelmingly beloved by the fanbase. Part of the reason was his lackluster postseason performances. He also didn’t always make himself likable.
On January 6, 2022, Randle gave an infamous thumbs-down gesture to the MSG faithful in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ come-from-behind win over the Boston Celtics. After the game, Randle said he did it to tell the fans to “shut the f—k up.”
On March 23, 2023, Randle was arguing a no-call at the end of the first half against the Orlando Magic. Immanuel Quickley tried to keep him away from the referee because Randle already received a technical and risked ejection. Randle got very close to Quickley’s face to yell at him to stay out of the way.
Another incident in 2022 saw Randle smack a laptop that video coordinator Scott King was holding while trying to show Randle something. Randle eventually got in his face too.
The moodiness was often displayed on the court as well. Randle didn’t always show the best body language on the court. At other times, he wasn’t exactly engaged in team huddles.
In an article written by Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic about Randle prior to last season tipping off, the now 31-year-old was quoted as saying this about the end of his time with the Knicks:
"You know how New York is, man. You’re under a different microscope. So it’s like, you’re not just battling and trying to win. It seems like you’re battling a million different things.”
Unfortunately for Randle, that pressure looked to be coming back to him last season. He again had a disappointing playoff run, leaving him out of favor with many of the fans in Minnesota.
Now, he’s back in New York with the Nets — who have much less expected of them. Two good teams have decided to trade him away. It worked out for the Knicks. Only time will tell whether it works out for the Timberwolves, as well.
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