The Knicks have agreed to sign Julius Randle to a three-year, $63MM deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).
Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the final year of the pact contains a team option, while Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link) classifies it as a partial guarantee.
Rumors of the Knicks’ interest in Randle sprouted once the Pelicans landed Zion Williamson and it became clear that New Orleans wasn’t likely to compete for the big man’s services. Those rumors continued in the week leading up to free agency.
New York is expected to have $51M in cap room after the agreement, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). It’s unclear if which players they are targeting with their cap space. The Knicks missed out on their top target in Kevin Durant, watching the former MVP sign with the crosstown Knicks. Kyrie Irving is also headed to Brooklyn.
Randle had a breakout season during his lone year in New Orleans. He notched career-highs in points per game (21.4), 3-pointers made (nearly one per contest), and player efficiency rating (21.0).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
New York is expected to have ??? More to come?? Lol
I thought the Knicks weren’t going to overpay and just sign middle tier players to short 1 and 2 year deals.
That plan was never going to last
Great solid signing for the Knicks young 21/9 PF added to that young core
Lol, is it “great” or “solid”? I’ll spare you the suspense, it’s neither.
I’ll spare you the suspense, Bryzzo– you’re wrong.
Can they still offer Kwahi? And then bring in another role guy
So the New York Knicks knowing they are not going to get any big-time free agents they have decided to massively overpay to get people to come there. This makes that organization look like a joke.
THIS does?? Haha you haven’t been paying attention very much then.
Looks like a joke is the Knicks m.o. smh. I’m a die hard Knicks fan and its these signings in which are head scratchers. Vonleh would have cost slightly less and is a solid 4th option and superior defender. And btw proved his worth. So you botched the Porzingis trade, the lottery didn’t bless you, and you miss out on your top FA’s…so your plan is 63 for 3 to Randle. Good lord
So you don’t like a young player who avg like 18+ and 8 next to AD and holiday.
Maybe he averaged 18 and 8 because of AD and holiday. Let’s see what he does as one of the focal points
Its not the youth or numbers. Its 63 million over the next three…idc that the Knicks have a 3rd yr option. 45 over three is much better. Thats what Randle is. Two way role players should be making what Randle just signed. Not one way role players.
They got out from under the mess that is Porzingis. He will be hurt his whole career. Big men aren’t meant to run the court like he tries to do. He will have a few highlights but he will not sustain it.
THIS is not a massive overpay and it speaks to your basketball IQ. No, he isn’t a marquee name at all and there’s a fall off in terms of expectations. However, Randle is a young and potentially up-and-coming star. He was a 21/9/3 guy who shot 52/34/73 guy who’ll only be 25 in November. He’s young enough that he can grow with this team. He and Robinson complement each other. I’d rather see the signings of a guy like Randle vs overpaying for Rubio, Jordan or Lopez.
Sorry dude, it’s a massive, desperate overpay for a guy that had ONE good season. It just is.
Ok, so he’s not an established NBA star. Still, he’s only 24 and his numbers have improved each year. Not sure if you’ve been paying attention but NBA FA are getting paid. That’s been the case for a while. It’s what the market bears unless you think Rubio is worth 3/$51 or Brogen at 4/$84, etc.
Zero reason to hate this deal. If he repeats another 21/9 season then he’s likely earning every penny. Knicks have to spend money. Rather do it for a young guy with upside.
Sorry dude, you’re wrong. First, it’s a three year deal. Second, he’s 24. Third, he’s improved every season. Fourth, look at his PER, WS/48, and VORP over the course of his career and note the upward trend.
This is nowhere near a ‘massive overpay’, nor is it ‘desperate’. I’m a Knicks fan and know they will find a way to screw this up big time, but right now, it’s a solid pick-up.
Do you want young players or long resumes?
There are plenty of things to complain about but oh he’s too young to have been really good for a long time seems odd.
You’re freaking out a lot about 5 mil too.
Agreed
at least knicks didnt get bamboozled by Durant and his destroyed achilles. he will be an Albatross and Kyrie is gonna sulk and bitch in Brooklyn
Big time
Salty much?!?
Seeing what other players are being paid this isn’t horrible. Ricky Rubio getting $51 mil for three years. That’s a lot worse than this
Actually it isn’t. Rubio can run a offense, pass, and plays some defense. I’d waver and give Rubio 51 in devotions but I wouldn’t give hime 63. And thats what the Knicks gave Randle.
negotiations
Yeah I have to agree.
Rozier got more than Rubio. Its a big money off season obviously.
Actually a good signing. They needed to add young talent to their team anyway not 26 yo Kyrie and 30 yo KD. The team wasn’t ready not like the Nets were. Now they just gotta upgrade DSJ.
As a Lakers fan who dealt with this guy if you think he is worth $21 million a year you know nothing about basketball. The most I could say is three years in the neighborhood of 40 million
If you think he was only getting $40 million then you my friend, know nothing about basketball.
Based on you watching him in LA or based on what free agents are getting?
Don’t forget $10 million a year for Taj Gibson LOL
That’s a good deal! Huge fan of Randle. He’s young too so they can fill out the roster with role players and then get another shot with someone else next year unless Butler changes his mind and goes there. People will hate on the Knicks but this is a good deal
LMAO
Yinz traded Porzingis and cleared cap for this guy lolz
Porzingis got traded because he didnt want to be in NY any longer.
That’s the easy part.
A Max deal for Porzingis was an easy last choice. That’s before you even consider we got paid to do it.
A little over a month ago Knicks fans were dreaming of having a healthy Durant, Kyrie, and Zion. Instead they ended up with Randle, RJ Barrett and cap space. LOL
yup, avoided an unhealthy Durant. still drafted a future star and avoided bytch as Kyrie
So happy for Julius! Super building block for NY.
He’s never played in the post season, he’ll continue to enjoy New York
Dumbest point to bring up. How is his lack of post-season experience against him? He’s 1 player on teams that sucked.
That’s because he played for dumpster fire Lakers teams and the Pelicans. AD only played in the post season in 2 out of 7 seasons there. Guess he’s trash, too.
This is a RIDICULOUS overpay and an obvious knee jerk reaction to Brooklyn’s news.
not at all
Knicks thought they were getting Zion, KD and Kyrie and end up with Randle. Yikes
knicks also thought Durant would have an intact Achilles tendon
Not getting Zion was completely out of their control. Not spending big money on KD with a shredded achilles isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor is missing out on Kyrie.
The Zion thing is almost creepy.
The level of brain damage required to somehow blame the Knicks for not winning the lottery when they couldn’t have done anything to improve their odds is disturbing.
I get being disappointed but who is desperate enough to make up bad stuff about the knicks?
The problem is from what I heard Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant just do not trust Dolan. I think you can see why as Porzingis and Anthony pushed themselves out of town. This franchise has become such a joke.
Smith Jr-Barrett-Knox-Randle-Robinson is a very intriguing lineup. The floor spacing is very average but it has immense potential.
Dennis- Baron Davis
Barrett-Wade/Harden
Knox- Glen Rice
Randle- Zach Randolph
Robinson- Dwight Howard
I know things have been rough for Knick fans, but this comp might be the most thirsty, delusional post I’ve seen in a loooong time, and that’s saying something on this site. Lol
This might possibly be the silliest thing I have ever read.
Like the move. Randle will excel on offense. He will struggle some on defense, but that will be the team theme for next year. He is a good building block.
Great signing!! solid up and coming player.. I predict he’ll be an all-star next season!
Knicks somehow found a new low when the F’n Nets are a more desirable NY destination. Wow!
oddly enough that’s a big maybe.
Dlo to Kyrie isn’t huge.
Durant isn’t even playing next year.
They might be better than last year but probably not.
They can have Wiggins for free lol.
Horrible. Worst signing of the offseason by any team. Can’t defend. Can’t shoot. The Stooges outdid themselves with this one. Of course, having Randle means you’re going to finish bottom 10 at least. He’s a form of tanking maybe.
@DXC 21/9/3 shooting 52/34/73…yeah he can’t shoot at all.
As a Knicks fan let’s just accept that everyone is going to second guess what they do. Let the guys play and show whether or not they made the right moves. They can’t force anyone to sign with them so you go out and get the best fits of the guys you can. I’m just glad they didn’t overpay for older vets on the decline.
His ceiling is as a backup on a good team. Don’t believe me? – how about Rex Chapman, who regularly shills for UK players. His horrific defense solidifies this regardless of his (volume enhanced) top line numbers. He’s a dumb, low IQ, player, who just plays hard on offense and measures his worth by how many points he scores. BTW, those aren’t good shooting numbers for an offensive big. Vonleh is a better all around player.
Having struck out for the elite UFAs, historically the smart move for a rebuilding team is to WAIT until the money dries up, then leverage your cap space for assets. Not rush to overpay any taker for your $$ and create liabilities. One more year on the 2016 contracts, it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel to (between now and the deadline) pick up multiple future 1st round picks, and better players on deals with 1 year remaining.
You seriously have no clue. Can’t shoot? Shot 34.5% from three and at TS% of 60%. Jesus.
Shush, until you learn something about the game. His career 3 pt % is 30%, he’s not a stretch big, as he’s not covered on the perimeter. Lots of bigs have that TS%. Kanter’s was 63% before Fiz got here. Look, he’d be a good scorer off the bench. Not a guy you give 63 mm to.
Fine, predictable signing. Sorry about certain nix fans wanting more but more was not going to happen. Randle will be quite popular in MSG soon; he is fun to watch; the boo birds might want to consider holding their water better.
I thought Perry/Mills had a deal with Irving but apparently not. They acted solo and if Zinger starts looking good they’re in trouble.