When a player is performing at the level that Julius Randle is for the New York Knicks this season, you don't trade him. Instead, you build with him.
Julius Randle has been extraordinary. Averaging 23.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from 3-point range, and 80.2 from the free throw line, he has been an elite force for the Knicks. His play warrants an All-Star nod.
Randle is doing it all offensively. He's playing in isolation, scoring out of the post, draining fadeaway jump shots, finishing inside, and sticking mid-range and 3-point jump shots with ease. He's the Knicks' go-to scorer and has become the much-needed dominant scorer of which they were in dire need.
That Randle is flourishing even in the midst of the defensive attention he's attracting has taken the pressure off the rest of the Knicks' roster. RJ Barrett has found success off the ball as a secondary source of offense. Elfrid Payton has been able to get inside off the dribble. Immanuel Quickley has been instant offense off the bench in the form of floaters and 3-pointers. Wings Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks have stretched the floor. When healthy, Mitchell Robinson has finished in the paint and been a defensive backbone.
New York is 14-16, good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Without Randle, the team would be near the bottom of the conference.
The visual difference between Randle this season and last season is striking. If one's first time observing the Kentucky product was his debut year with the Knicks (2019-20), they'd think he was a highly productive player whose game leaves much to be desired from an impact standpoint. If one's first time observing Randle was this season, they'd think he's a star.
He went from a productive player struggling to make a difference with the Knicks to their franchise player. It's astounding. How do you move on from this?
The speculation around the Knicks moving Randle stems from two factors: Obi Toppin's growth and the prospect of acquiring a star down the line.
The Knicks selected Toppin with the eighth pick in the 2020 NBA Draft with him presumably succeeding Randle midseason or in the 2021-22 season as the starting power forward. Meanwhile, Randle's play could yield a sweet return via a trade given that he has a team option for next season. A team trading for Randle is getting his production, working under the mindset that the player he is with the Knicks will be who he is elsewhere, for a season and a half if they choose to pick up the option.
It's feasible for team president Leon Rose to command a first-round draft pick and a compelling player on a rookie deal as a baseline for a Randle trade. It's a move they could justify, as they'd be corralling more draft capital for a future blockbuster.
That said, just because you can justify a move doesn't mean you should make it. The reality is the Knicks have a player they can build around in Julius Randle.
Whether it be Thibodeau trusting him to be the offensive focal point or Randle's former assistant coach at Kentucky, Kenny Payne, joining Thibodeau's coaching staff, this season has brought out the monster in the forward. Randle was a lottery selection in 2014 for a reason: he had the talent to be a difference-maker.
New York is roughly halfway through the season. At this point, the team knows what it has at its disposal, among which is one of the best frontcourt scorers in the NBA. Yes, Randle's play creates a predicament for the Knicks with Toppin, but that's something that can be revisited in the offseason. In the meantime, they should play hard with what's in the building and try to make the playoffs.
Julius Randle is still just 26 years old. It's not as if he's a veteran who's nearing the back end of his career. The Knicks have a player on the cusp of his prime balling out alongside a core of budding youngsters like Barrett, Robinson, and Quickley.
Rather than move Randle, the Knicks could look to add an impact backcourt/wing scorer in the offseason (Victor Oladipo?) to play next to Barrett and help out Randle in the scoring department. They also have two first-round picks in the 2021 NBA Draft. Those picks could become rotation players, or they could be used for a trade up in the draft if the Knicks have their sights set on a particular player. Heck, the picks could help facilitate a trade for a star to play next to Randle.
In the Knicks' last game of the 2019-20 NBA season, their starting five was Payton, Barrett, Maurice Harkless, Randle, and Taj Gibson. Four of those players are still on the roster, three of them remaining in the starting five under a new coach (Thibodeau took the coaching reigns from interim Mike Miller, who took over for David Fizdale midseason).
Of course, some of their youngsters taking the next step and the free-agent signings of Burks and Austin Rivers have played a role in the Knicks' play. None have played a bigger role than Randle's rise to stardom, though.
Two months ago, few, if any had Randle playing at this level. The Knicks were probably no exception. Randle's emergence isn't a burden: it's a blessing. He has vastly improved their roster, given them optimism, and created more future opportunities. There's plenty of season remaining, and the Knicks should spend it with Randle at the forefront.
Trading Julius Randle before the NBA trade deadline would be a grave sin.
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