While Julius Randle was a great scorer and ball center for the New York Knicks, he is certainly not Tom Thibodeau’s type of player.
The Knicks under Thibs will most likely all be on defense and if Leon Rose and the front office staff have anything to say about it (which they do), they will also be a 3-point shooting team. Julius Randle, despite being a talented player, is not a strong defender, cannot shoot at 3 and would be heavily overpaid for the role the New York Knicks would have used him going forward.
In other words, there’s a good chance the New York Knicks will move in with Julius Randle sooner rather than later. So what can they get for Randle?
Well, the Knicks are looking for the 3-point shot, floor spacing and defenders, while potentially retaining the flexibility of the cap in case they want to chase the stars in free agency in the summer of 2021.
Few teams in the NBA are able to offer all of the above. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the few. Both Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green are a perfect fit for what the Knicks want to do in the future.
Randle is a willing defender but not exactly good. Maybe with Frank Vogel and his teammates, Randle can step up the defense and be useful at that end of the pitch, but you wouldn’t trust what happens.
The Knicks probably get the best deal in this scenario, but with the Lakers contending for the title, they will be able to stock the roster with a shooter to replace Danny Green and a large space to replace Kyle Kuzma.