New York Knicks

NBA exec affirms Knicks need to find taker for Julius Randle if they want shot at making Finals

Published by
Jesse Cinquini

One NBA executive believes that in order for the New York Knicks to have a puncher’s chance at reaching the NBA Finals, they need to trade forward Julius Randle for another star player who is a superior fit.

“Yeah, they’re almost in a situation where they have to do something,” the exec told Heavy Sports. “They can’t afford to wait. They can stay a pretty good team. But if they want to have a chance at the Finals, they have to find a taker for (Randle), find a way to turn him into a star who fits better.”

Randle is set to miss the remainder of the season for the Knicks with a shoulder injury and is reportedly “devastated” that he won’t be able to take the court with his teammates for the foreseeable future.

The 29-year-old appeared in 46 games for the storied franchise during the 2023-24 regular season and averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from 3-point range.

In his last game of the season, he accumulated 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from deep in New York’s 16-point victory over the Miami Heat back on Jan. 27.

The Knicks have done an admirable job of adjusting to life without Randle on the court over the past few months. New York is ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers by one game in the Eastern Conference standings for the No. 3 seed and riding a three-game winning streak.

The team is fresh off one of its more impressive victories of the campaign against the Boston Celtics on Thursday. The Knicks handed the Celtics just their fourth loss at home all season thanks to a scoring eruption from Jalen Brunson, who dropped 39 points on 23 shots from the floor to go along with four assists.

Brunson was one of six players for the Knicks who managed to score 10 points or more against a Celtics defense that is one of the very best in the NBA.

Before the playoffs begin for the Knicks, they have two games left to play on their regular-season schedule. First, New York will take on the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Then, in the last game of the Knicks’ 82-game slate, the team will play the Chicago Bulls on April 14.

Jesse Cinquini

Jesse is an aspiring sports journalist that has previously worked as a staff writer at SB Nation’s CelticsBlog and The Knicks Wall.

Published by
Jesse Cinquini

Recent Posts

‘Wtf’: Trae Young reacts to Rashad McCants saying he could score 81 points like Kobe Bryant

Back in January of 2006, former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant put on one…

7 mins ago

Rashad McCants says he could’ve won ROTY but had a coach who was ‘shaking in the motherf——g huddle’

Former NBA guard Rashad McCants was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the last lottery…

12 mins ago

Chandler Parsons says Jaylen Brown would be best player on over half of NBA teams, including some playoff teams

The Boston Celtics were without maybe their top player for Wednesday's Game 2 versus the…

16 mins ago

‘Spo gonna Spo’: Cavs player gives Erik Spoelstra his flowers after Heat’s near-upset in Game 2

The odds were stacked against the Miami Heat to pick up a win in Game…

30 mins ago

Report: Will Campbell landing with Patriots may depend on whether team gets ‘fair deal’ to trade down

As a consolation prize for a woeful 2024 season that was marred by losing, the…

33 mins ago

Report: ‘Most of the league’ has been contacted about Jalen Ramsey, including Rams, Lions and Eagles

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is one of the more notable players in the league…

37 mins ago