Julius Randle Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Durant, Walker, Kanter, Riller

November 30th, 2021 at 10:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Ahead of the Knicks‘ eventual 112-110 loss to their cross-town rival Nets on Tuesday night, New York All-Star forward Julius Randle praised Brooklyn All-Star forward Kevin Durant, per Peter Botte of the New York Post.

“He’s the best player in the league, for sure,” Randle raved on Monday. “[I’ve] never seen a 7-footer that skilled… [He can] do anything, everything, on the court. No weakness. That’s him. He’s tough. Great player, but I love competing against him.”

In an MVP-level season for the Nets, Durant is averaging 28.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 5.6 APG in 35.8 MPG, with a shooting line of .539/.389/.863.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The demotion of Kemba Walker from starting Knicks point guard to a DNP-CD serves as clear evidence of head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s zeal to win, per Ian O’Connor of the New York Post. Though the move for the 31-year-old hometown hero may not be a popular one, Thibodeau knows it will help the club’s defense significantly. “I just don’t like the way we’ve been trending, the inconsistency of our team,” Thibodeau said. “I want to get bigger. I want our defense to get bigger at the point of the attack.” The six-foot Walker, never a good defender, has seen his efficacy on both sides of the ball decline following knee injuries while with the Celtics. Fred Katz of The Athletic notes that the disparity in points per possession when Walker plays as opposed to when he sits represents the difference between what would be the best defensive efficiency in the NBA (when he sits) and what would be the worst (when he plays).
Upon becoming a US citizen on Monday, Celtics reserve center Enes Kanter has officially changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). “It was really important to me” to acknowledge the freedom that the Turkish native gets to enjoy as an American citizen, the freshly-anointed Kanter Freedom said.
Sixers two-way player Grant Riller injured his right shoulder during a contest for Philadelphia’s NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, this past Sunday, tweets Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Bodner adds that Riller’s health status will be reassessed in a week. The No. 56 pick in 2020 out of the College of Charleston, Riller has yet to appear in a game for the Sixers this season. The 6’2″ point guard is averaging 5.5 PPG, 2.3 APG and 1.5 RPG across four games for Delaware.

Knicks Notes: Burks, Walker, Dinwiddie, Randle

November 28th, 2021 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Playing with a depleted roster, the Knicks got a huge lift from Alec Burks in Saturday’s win over Atlanta, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Making his first start of the season, the veteran swingman delivered 23 points as New York ended the Hawks’ seven-game winning streak.

Burks was called into service at point guard with Derrick Rose injured and Kemba Walker resting on the second night of a back-to-back. It was the latest in a series of strong performances for Burks, and Berman suggests that he may become a regular part of the starting lineup.

“We’re a great team and we have a lot of depth, so I believe I can step up at any time,’’ Burks said. “It was just my night tonight. … It’s the way we play. Anyone can handle the ball at any time. That’s (coach Tom Thibodeau’s) offense.’’

There’s more from New York:

Walker remains the Knicks’ starter at point guard, but he has rarely been playing in the fourth quarter, Berman notes in a separate story. Walker’s arthritic left knee is limiting him to 24.5 minutes per night, and Thibodeau is turning to Rose to finish games. As a result, Walker is averaging a career-low 11.7 points per game and the team is routinely getting outscored when he is on the court.
Some members of the organization wanted to make a play for Spencer Dinwiddie in free agency, Berman adds, but the team opted to sign Evan Fournier, then reached an agreement with Walker after his buyout with the Thunder. “They had to make a splash,’’ an unidentified team executive told Berman about the decision to add Walker, a New York City native.
The Knicks won’t be able to make a serious playoff run without a greater contribution from Julius Randle, states Ian O’Connor of The New York Post. Randle earned Most Improved Player honors last year while leading New York to the fourth seed, but he hasn’t been the same player since the postseason. He shot just 3-of-14 Saturday night, and his scoring and shooting percentages have declined significantly.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Knicks Chemistry, Thibodeau, Tatum

November 14th, 2021 at 9:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Should disgruntled Sixers point guard Ben Simmons rejoin his Philadelphia teammates without the proper attitude, the feel-good vibes of the team’s 8-6 season start could take a hit, opines Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Simmons has yet to suit up this season, hoping for a trade out of town.

“I don’t think that’s something we thought about yet,” swingman Danny Green said of a potential Simmons-Sixers reunion this year. “We don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon. But it’s something that hasn’t really crossed our minds yet.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

With the Knicks set to play their next three contests at Madison Square Garden, Tommy Beer of Basketball News writes that they have an opportunity to improve the shaky chemistry that has led to the club going 2-4 in its last six games. Starters Julius Randle and RJ Barrett have struggled lately. Beer adds that playing at home will allow for head coach Tom Thibodeau to hold more practices than are possible on the road, which could help the Knicks kick-start their energy.
To help improve the on-court performance of the Knicks‘ starting five, head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to give his starters stricter set plays and less improvisational optionality in a productive practice today, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. “The first thing you ask [is] are we playing hard enough and executing properly?” Thibodeau said. “If what we’re doing is not good enough, that’s when you change… In all fairness to Julius [Randle] and [starting point guard Kemba Walker], because of who they are, they probably get the brunt of what’s going on. The reality is we have to play well together as a group. It’s not one, two guys. We can say new guys, old guys. We can say first unit, second unit.”
Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum is struggling through one of his worst-ever shooting stretches, prompting Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe to consider the possible cause of the issue and potential solutions. Tatum currently has a career-worst shooting line of .388/.322/.742.

Knicks Notes: Barrett, Fournier, Randle, Walker

November 13th, 2021 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau lost patience with his starting lineup Wednesday and with the theory that they need more time together to be effective. RJ Barrett, one of the holdovers from last season, agrees that the starters haven’t played well enough but believes the problems will eventually work themselves out, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.

“Everything takes time — any new team,’’ Barrett said. “No one’s going to have it right away off the bat. It takes time. We’re trying to figure out who we are if we’re going to be consistent. I think this whole team. Even though we were together last year, the guys that were here, we’re still learning each other, so we’re gonna keep growing, improving.’’

New York is 7-6, but all five starters are posting negative plus-minus ratings. Evan Fournier, who was added in free agency over the summer, believes the offense has gotten “very stagnant” when the starting lineup is on the court together.

“We started really well, shooting the ball well, sharing the ball, et cetera,” he said. “Now it’s not as good. So are we playing not as well because we are missing shots or are we missing shots because we aren’t sharing the ball.’’

There’s more from New York:

The Knicks aren’t getting their money’s worth from Fournier so far, Berman states in a separate story. They signed him for $78MM over four years, but Thibodeau appears to have lost confidence in him late in games. Berman points out that Fournier has been benched for the final 14 minutes of the last two contests, both losses, and he isn’t providing the clutch shots or hustle on defense that the team needs.
Another issue is a lack of chemistry between new point guard Kemba Walker and Julius Randle, Berman adds. Both players are used to controlling the ball, and a scout tells Berman that Randle “pouts” when he feels he doesn’t have it enough. Berman notes that Randle, who had five turnovers in Friday’s loss to the Hornets, is starting to revert to iso-ball habits. “I definitely think there’s games where we’re being outworked, outrebounded,’’ Randle said. “Our identity’s not our defensive end (like) how it has been. But we know that. We know we got to fix it. We just got to keep working at it, just keep coming together and stay together.’’
Sopan Deb of The New York Times examines what has gone wrong with the Knicks’ defense, which was the core of the team’s identity last season.

Knicks’ Thibodeau On Starters’ Struggles: “We’ve Gotta Figure It Out”

November 11th, 2021 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau benched his starters for the final 14 minutes of the team’s loss to the Bucks on Wednesday, as ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. After the game, Thibodeau said the five-man group – Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson – “just didn’t play well,” adding that “we’ve gotta figure it out.”

The Knicks’ starters were especially ineffective on Wednesday — Robinson was minus-15 during his minutes, while the other four starters were minus-22 or worse.

However, their struggles weren’t just a a one-game aberration. The Knicks’ starting five, which has been the most-used lineup in the NBA this season, has an abysmal -14.4 net rating (including a 119.3 defensive rating) in 205 total minutes. That’s the second-worst net rating of any NBA lineup that has logged more than 80 minutes so far in 2021/22.

Thibodeau isn’t buying that the group just needs more time to develop chemistry, according to Bontemps.

“You know what they say: When it’s 10 games, they say you need 20,” Thibodeau said. “When you say 20, they say you need 30; at 30, you say 40. And before you know it, the season is over. So that’s a bunch of bulls–t.”

The Knicks’ bench, led by Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, and Taj Gibson, has been productive this season and has been a key factor in the team’s 7-5 start. It’s possible moving one of those players into the starting lineup could help jump-start that group and shore up the defense, but Thibodeau may prefer not to make such a move when the reserves are playing so well in their current roles.

New York Notes: Randle, Knicks, Noel, Claxton, Nets

November 5th, 2021 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks will be looking to pick up a win in Milwaukee on Friday night, but Julius Randle views the Bucks as a success story worth emulating, as Fred Katz of The Athletic details. Milwaukee won a title in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s eighth season, having patiently built a championship-caliber roster around its star player without making any major splashes on the free agent market.

“It was beautiful to watch simply because the aspect of, they built it from the ground up,” Randle said. “They didn’t put a super team together or whatever it was. These guys were in the mud every day grinding the thing out. They took some lumps along the way there trying to figure it out.”

While the Knicks lack a bona fide superstar on the level of Antetokounmpo, Randle likes the idea of building the roster “organically” and believes that it an eventual breakthrough would be more rewarding.

“(The Bucks) did something that’s very unique, especially in today’s league, as far as building something like that and not putting a bunch of players together,” he said. “They really built it.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Responding to news that Owen Phillips is joining the Knicks‘ coaching analytics team, Seth Partnow of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that the franchise has gone from one of the league’s smallest analytics departments to one of the largest under president of basketball operations Leon Rose.
Knicks center Nerlens Noel missed the first six games of the season with what was termed “knee soreness,” but he told reporters today that it was more of a hamstring issue, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
The Nets have assigned Nicolas Claxton to the G League as he works his way back from an illness. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), Claxton still isn’t ready to play and will just be training and ramping up during his time with Long Island.
While Claxton probably won’t play in any games for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, a handful of the team’s rookies are expected to be regulars for the Long Island Nets this season. Chris Milholen of NetsDaily takes a closer look at the Nets‘ developmental plans for Cameron Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, Kessler Edwards, and David Duke.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Simmons, Nets, Randle, Knicks

October 23rd, 2021 at 2:23pm CST by JD Shaw

Sixers star Tobias Harris defended Ben Simmons‘ recent decision to remain inactive, explaining that it’s important to support Simmons as he privately addresses his situation, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.

Simmons addressed the team in a meeting this week that Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer referred to as a “step in the right direction.” The 25-year-old hasn’t appeared in either of the club’s two games due to his ongoing trade request, and his status for future games is unclear.

“I think it’s obviously a good start,” Harris said as part of a larger quote, according to Bontemps. “But as I said, at this time we have to respect his privacy, his space, and we’ve got to be there for him, with what he’s going through and this process.

“It’s easy to look at something on the surface and come to assumptions on a lot of things, especially athletes. In general in this space we’re depicted as superhumans, and you’re not really supposed to have feelings or go through anything. So I think we just have to really understand he’s a human first, and if he’s going through something at times, we have to respect that and go through that as a team, organization, fans, all the way down the line.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division today:

The Nets reverted back to small-ball in the team’s victory over the Sixers on Friday, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Brooklyn found success with a lineup that featured Kevin Durant at power forward and LaMarcus Aldridge at center, helping secure a 114-109 road victory. Durant finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists, while Aldridge recorded 23 points in less than 23 minutes.
Knicks star Julius Randle is considering fighting the $15K fine he received for tossing the ball into the crowd after a win this week, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “We’ll see what happens,’’ Randle said. “I didn’t know it was a thing, but it’s fine. That’s really all it was – more celebrating. I didn’t toss it anywhere or in any direction or trying to do anything. It was emotions. Excitement from the first game. And I was happy it was over with. It was two overtimes. Everybody was exhausted.’’
The Knicks‘ decision to add more three-point shooting has benefited the team thus far, Ian Begley of SNYtv writes. New York made a franchise-record 24 threes in its victory over Orlando on Friday, receiving strong contributions from newcomers Kemba Walker (3-for-5) and Evan Fournier (4-for-9).

Atlantic Notes: Fournier, Randle, Kanter, Simmons

October 21st, 2021 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks guard Evan Fournier made an impressive debut against his former team, posting 32 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists in a double OT victory over the Celtics on Wednesday. Fournier struggled with his shooting in preseason games, but coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t fazed, according to Zach Brazilier of the New York Post. “I was never worried about him making shots,” he said. “To me, he has proven throughout his career that that is who he is.” Fournier was acquired in a sign-and-trade with his four-year contract worth up to 78MM.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Julius Randle‘s first game after signing a four-year, $117MM extension showed that he’s not resting on his laurels, Ian O’Connor of the New York Post writes. The Knicks forward racked up 35 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. “Julius had that monster year, got a new contract and all that and he’s hungrier now than last year, which I thought was impossible,” Thibodeau said. “He comes in every night like clockwork. You know he’s going to be in there.” Randle was fined $15K by the league for throwing the ball in the stands at the end of the team’s opening-night win, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press tweets.
Chinese video-streaming giant Tencent won’t show Celtics games in the foreseeable future after comments made by center Enes Kanter, according to Eva Dou and Lyric Li of the Washington Post. Kanter posted a video voicing his support for Tibetan independence. In response, Tencent cut the live broadcast of Wednesday’s game between the Celtics and the Knicks. Sixers president and former Houston GM Daryl Morey created a firestorm between the Chinese government and the NBA with his public support in 2019 of Hong Kong pro-democracy protestors.
The Ben Simmons saga with the Sixers even has NFL players in Philadelphia voicing their opinions. Eagles center Jason Kelce said Simmons needs to own up to his shortcomings, ESPN’s Tim McManus writes. “I don’t want to crush any other players, but what’s going on with the 76ers, Ben Simmons, stuff like that, all of that is because of a lack of accountability, a lack of owning up to mistakes and a lack of correcting things,” Kelce said. “If all that got corrected, if you’re fixing free throws, if you’re getting better as a player, none of this is happening. So everybody can b—h and complain about how tough this city is to play in. Just play better, man. This city will love you.”

New York Notes: Randle, Barrett, Millsap, Ntilikina

September 19th, 2021 at 5:16pm CST by JD Shaw

Knicks All-Star big man Julius Randle recently discussed a variety of subjects with SNY.tv’s Ian Begley, including his career-best 2020/21 campaign, Mitchell Robinson‘s progression and more.

Randle, 26, is coming off an excellent season with New York, averaging 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and six assists per game. He also shot 46% from the field and 41% from deep during those contests.

“My process, honestly, it stays the same,” Randle said. “I try to keep the main focus, the main focus. And that’s, (taking) everything day by day. Whether it’s a workout, whether it’s a film, whatever it is, I just try to give everything that I can when I’m doing what I’m doing. And I kind of let the chips fall where they may.

“I trust the work and the process of everything that I’ve done. And I have faith and belief that that’s going to pay off. I know what I sacrifice, I know what I do to prepare. And regardless of success or failure, I try not to change. I don’t know what the expectation is (for our team). I can’t even tell you what to expect from me. I just know that I’m just gonna keep improving, getting better as a player. That’s just where I stand with it.”

There’s more out of New York tonight:

In the same interview with SNY.tv, Randle praised the rapid improvement of Knicks guard RJ Barrett. Like Randle, Barrett also had a productive 2020/21 season, averaging 17.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. “RJ’s going to be a really good player,” Randle said as part of a larger quote. “What is he, 21? I don’t know how old he is. He’s young as hell (laughs). He’s a really good player, and I can relate as far as what he’s done, and what I’ve seen from him so far in this offseason is he just keeps improving. That’s really what it’s about.”
Nets big man Paul Millsap is switching jersey numbers from No. 4 to No. 31, according to NetsDaily (Twitter link). Millsap, a 15-year NBA veteran, signed a free-agent deal to join the team last month.
Former Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina bid farewell to the team and its fans on Sunday, posting a short video on social media (Instagram link). Ntilikina was the team’s No. 8 pick in the 2017 draft. He recently signed with the Mavericks after spending four seasons in New York.

Contract Details: Forbes, Richardson, R. Williams, Randle

August 29th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Spurs used their room exception to finalize the signing of shooting guard Bryn Forbes, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Forbes’ deal with San Antonio, which is worth $4.5MM, only covers one year, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Although Forbes’ contract technically doesn’t use up the Spurs’ entire room exception, the amount left ($410K) isn’t big enough to be used on a second player. It’s possible it could come in handy very late in the season, when the prorated portion of the room exception exceeds the prorated minimum salary, but I’d expect it to just go unused.

Our full breakdown of how teams are using their mid-level/room exceptions this season can be found right here.

Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:

The one-year extension that Josh Richardson signed with the Celtics is worth $12,196,094, which represents a 5% raise on 2021/22 salary ($11,615,328), tweets Smith. Because Richardson was traded to Boston just a few weeks ago, extend-and-trade rules limited his raise to 5% of his previous salary.
Smith also provides the specifics, down to the dollar, of Robert Williams‘ rookie scale extension with the Celtics (Twitter link). We took a closer look at that deal, along with details on some of the incentives, last week.
Julius Randle‘s new four-year extension with the Knicks includes a 15% trade kicker, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). Unlike several other deals with 15% trade kickers, Randle’s contract is well below the maximum, so he’d be in position to earn a sizeable bonus if he’s traded in the coming years.