Stephen A. Smith hinted on ESPN’s First Take that the New York Knicks should explore trading Randle after this season for a former Tom Thibodeau player.
“I will say this. I think they should trade him”, Smith said. “If I could get my hands on someone like Karl-Anthony Towns, don’t get me wrong. I’m talking about basketball skills, not stamina. I don’t think anyone can compete with Julius Randle. It was Mr. Reliable. He played the first 77 games this season before getting injured. So reliability, reliability in that sense, I can’t sniff. But I’m talking talent-wise, particularly at playoff time: I’d prefer Karl -Anthony Towns rather than Julius Randle”.