247report: crucial decisions to make with many significant players.

The fact that the New York Knicks were unable to witness their roster perform at maximum capacity during the playoffs is what most stings about their poor 2022–2023 season finale. The club was ultimately unable to overcome the injuries to a number of players, including Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Bojan Bogdanovic.

Important personnel choices for the Knicks need to be made this offseason.
The Knicks now have some crucial decisions to make with many significant players as the offseason gets underway. Although Anunoby is a free agent, they should be able to entice him back with a high-paying long-term contract. There have been rumors that they will need to move Randle, who is up for a $182 million, four-year extension this summer, in order to come to an arrangement with Anunoby. After the upcoming season, he will become a free agent if an extension is not agreed.

Is Julius Randle the odd man out for the Knicks?

In light of the ambiguity surrounding the Knicks’ ability to sign Anunoby, extend both Randle and Jalen Brunson, then sign Brunson, Randle has been dubbed the probable odd man out as the team continues to invest for the future. After sustaining a dislocated shoulder against the Miami Heat in late January, the power forward missed the final 36 regular season games as well as the whole postseason. Last season, he averaged 24 points and 9.2 rebounds.

In spite of everything, Randle shouldn’t be traded by the Knicks—at least not this summer—for the following reasons:

Randle’s injury limited the number of games he, Brunson, and Anunoby played together with the Knicks to 12. But the trio had the upper hand in those contests. According to NBA statistics, the team had a net rating of 24.5 while they shared the floor and went 11-1 in their combined games.

These statistics show that Anunoby improved both sides of the ball when he joined Brunson and Randle, which helped the club win more games—many of them by a wide margin. Individually, Randle had a better month in January as well, averaging 25/8/5 while shooting 37% from outside the arc and 48% from the floor.

Before the Anunoby deal, Randle shot just 28% from three, and in 26 games together, the three-man group of Randle, Brunson, and RJ Barrett had a net rating of -1.0. When Brunson started to emerge as a star, the issue was raised as to whether Randle or Barrett would be his long-term Robin. Many doubted the Knicks’ ability to succeed after trading Barrett since Randle would now play a larger role and there would be one fewer player on the court who was the ball’s primary distributor.