Why the Knicks should extend Julius Randle ahead of 2024-25 NBA season

If you had to give this Knicks offseason a name, the “all-in offseason” might be the most appropriate moniker. After multiple rebuilding seasons spent discovering and tinkering with their core foundation, New York spent this summer locking it down for the long-term and building on top of it for a championship run.

Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson had their contracts extended. They re-signed OG Anunoby to a massive deal and added the final piece of the Villanova conglomerate in Mikal Bridges.

In that spirit, the Knicks should complete their all-in summer by going all-in on the guy who was pivotal in kickstarting this franchise turnaround: Julius Randle. His emergence as an All-NBA player brought New York its first playoff appearance in nearly a decade, and he’s largely performed to that level since, helping them become a competitive mainstay over the last two seasons.

Despite that he still has his naysayers, and for good reason. He’s yet to put together a strong postseason for New York, completely melted down in 2021-22, and didn’t get a chance to prove himself after separating his shoulder and missing the end of last season and the Knicks’ entire playoff run.

However, in the bigger picture, the pros for extending Randle far outweigh the cons.

As mentioned, Randle is a staple of this new Knicks era, with only him, Mitchell Robinson and Thibodeau carried over from that first season. His physical presence and play feeds into the rest of the squad on that end, and it’s difficult to find similar productivity around the league.

Following his rusty start, Randle finished last season averaging 25.5 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 50 percent shooting from the field, in line with his career averages as a Knick and matched only by the league’s elite: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

As gaudy as those raw numbers are, they don’t do his game justice. Randle is an extremely difficult one-on-one guard, constantly drawing multiple defenders, which he punishes with this adept passing.

Defensively, his effort may wane, but when he’s locked in he’s a switchable nightmare guarding on the ball, and a force on the glass.

Some may still question how much this translates to winning basketball, not having watched enough of his tenure, or this past January. The Knicks ran roughshod over the league with a 12-2 record after the Anunoby trade, with Randle a key and well-fitting piece of that run.

The irony in looking for replacement options for Randle is he’s exactly what Brunson and the Knicks need. An imposing presence who can create shots for himself and others at will, while still bringing the connective tissue that binds this team.

We saw that perfect blend of traits in January, but didn’t get a chance to see it finally come to fruition in the postseason. That may give some pause in extending him, but even if he’s still unproven in their eyes, it still makes more sense to retain him long-term.

If Randle has a massive prove-it year, he’ll opt out of his player option for 2025-26 to sign a huge max contract, either with the Knicks or another team. If he doesn’t, New York will be looking to move his expiring contract, which is of considerably less value than if he were locked in for years.

Truthfully, Randle doesn’t have much left to prove. His last two postseason appearances were tainted by inexperience and injury, but outside of those he’s been a remarkable talent and one of the best in Knicks history.

Last year’s shoulder injury led to Randle’s first sub-70 games played season with the Knicks since the pandemic-shortened 2020. He’s been an iron man otherwise, and consistently played to All-NBA levels.

Randle also embraced the city and this team’s culture, and backed it up with his play. Given all the Knicks have done to retain that type of player, they should be ready to do it again.