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The New York Knicks continued the theme of their savvy offseason on Thursday when they rewarded the NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player, Julius Randle, with a four-year contract extension.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news of Randle’s new deal, which amounts to $117 million in total and features a player option in the last year:
By not getting too anxious about landing another superstar player, and prioritizing their own core while also making calculated plays for new talent, New York has had one of the most sensible offseasons of any NBA team.
The Knicks acquired Evan Fournier to add 3-point shooting and more wing defense. A low-risk, high-reward flier on Kemba Walker gives New York another playmaker on offense, too. But to tie back to Randle, the Knicks retained core talent like Derrick Rose, Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks, who were key to their ascent to fourth in the Eastern Conference.
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Ever since Randle began his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers as the seventh overall pick out of Kentucky in 2014, it seems like most outsiders have tried to put a ceiling on his game.
Never mind that Randle was joining a Lakers squad that was in complete rebuilding mode, and could only count on the late, great Kobe Bryant in the twilight of his career as far as veteran leadership. It was not the best situation to be thrust into, much less with the pressure of playing for an iconic franchise.
After four uneven seasons in LA, Randle joined the New Orleans Pelicans, who’ve been revealed as one of the NBA’s very most dysfunctional organizations, evident in their three different head coaches in as many years.
Julius Randle’s extension wasn’t necessary, but it shows shift in New York Knicks’ culture
Although he played decently in his first year with the Knicks, there was nothing to suggest Randle would explode onto the scene and spark a shocking run to the playoffs for New York. That’s exactly what happened, though, and the arrival of head coach Tom Thibodeau had a ton to do with it.
What does all this have to do with the Knicks’ culture? Answer: They didn’t have to extend Randle.
Considering the quantum leap Randle made in his age-26 season, how he led the NBA in minutes per game and missed only one regular-season contest, is it really a surprise that he was gassed once the postseason rolled around?
That’s a huge factor to take into consideration regarding Randle’s abysmal playoff effort, wherein he shot just 29% from the field in a 4-1 series loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Check out where the Knicks’ elite defense checks in on our latest NBA defensive rankings list
With only one year left on his contract, coming off that performance, New York easily had the leverage to say, “You know what, Mr. Randle? We love you. Thank you for what you did this past season. However, let’s see how this next season goes before we offer you another big payday. That’s fair, right?”
Translation from said hypothetical conversation: If you don’t deliver in 2021-22, we’ll dangle you as bait at the trade deadline, or move off you in the summer in a sign-and-trade, or let you walk in favor of a superior superstar.
Knicks regimes of years past would do that, only to swing and miss on the biggest names on the free-agent market.
Not this time. New York recognized it had something special in Randle, and how vital he was to the team’s chemistry, morale and flat-out overall buy-in prior teams lacked for years. Randle was rewarded for his extraordinary efforts, and he’ll be even more driven to come off a longer offseason break to prove he’s worth the new contract.