Few players had a larger disparity in their year-to-year percepion among Knicks fans than Julius Randle did. He was either the King of New York or the worst contract in the NBA, with very little in between.
That seesaw of reputation was in large part because Randle's performance fluctuated so greatly from one year to the next. Frankly, it fluctuates from one week to the next, and that's something Timberwolves fans are experiencing in Randle's second year with the team.
At his baseline, Randle is a productive player who makes the team he plays for better. But with a playstyle that demands he has the ball in his hands often, even a slight decline in production feels cataclysmic because he's such a focal point of a team's offense.
If Randle were an off-ball specialist or could disappear into the background when he's struggling, then his bad games wouldn't feel so bad. But he can't do that — so if his shooting percentages drop a few percent, or his turnover rate increases, you can see it and feel it. That's why, even in his poor seasons for the Knicks, his counting stats weren't hugely different from his great seasons. But watching the games made it obvious just how crucial those small statistical leaps and stumbles are for Randle.
Julius Randle's inconsistencies are part of the package
On the season, Randle has been solid. Like Knicks fans know, his bad games are hard to escape because his usage rate and volume is going to be high whether the shots are going in or not. But those bad games come with the territory with Randle, and the offensive upside he brings nightly does make the clunkers worth it overall, even if said clunkers are tougher to watch than a typical bad game from a star.
Randle also gives the occasional reminder that he can be a high-level facilitator like he was on Sunday in the Wolves' win against the Spurs, when he dished out 12 assists. That ability to get others involved isn't always on display, but it's fun to watch when it is.
Julius Randle has been what the Wolves wanted him to be when they acquired him for Karl-Anthony Towns, and he was an integral part of their Western Conference Finals run last year. As Knicks fans know, he can be destructive on his off nights, but is good enough on most nights to ignore the rough games, even if they feel worse than typical bad games from high-level players.