The alleged reason in question is the birth of his second son. Randle unavailableĭue to personal reasons, Randle will not make the trip to Washington, D.C. With two very good floor spacers alongside Randle and RJ Barrett, as well as a terrific lob threat in Mitchell Robinson (once he becomes ready to play again) the possibilities for how New York can dismantle defense are plentiful. Their shooting and ability to score made Julius Randle’s life much easier and helped New York build a sizable lead in the first quarter that they never gave back.Īs they gain more chemistry together, the Knicks’ starting lineup could be a force to be reckoned with offensively. The last game proved just how much help the new backcourt of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier could be. While the Wizards look to find their identity as a team, the Knicks are looking to improve theirs. The son of the NBA Hall of Famer has been an assistant coach in the NBA since 2006. takes the reigns of his first professional team. The new-look Wizards will have a new coach as well, as Wes Unseld Jr. Washington also added sharpshooter Corey Kispert, drafting him 15th overall out of Gonzaga. They traded away Russell Westbrook and several second-round draft picks to receive Spencer Dinwiddie from the Nets Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell from the Lakers Aaron Holiday from the Pacers and the draft rights to G League Ignite forward Isaiah Todd. ET.Īfter an eighth-place finish and a first-round loss in the playoffs last season, the Wizards revamped their roster around franchise star Bradley Beal with a gigantic five-team trade. Tonight’s matchup will take place at the Capital One Arena at 7:00 p.m. Up next on their schedule is the Washington Wizards, who the Knicks will play thrice during the regular season. The New York Knicks opened up their 2021 preseason with a resounding victory over the Indiana Pacers. “So where does that leave Julius Randle in all of this? With the size of his contract, especially after they just extended him and all of the drama that surrounded him this season, don’t be shocked if they look to trade him.The Knicks will travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Wizards in their lone preseason game away from home. “Obi Toppin proved that he deserves to be in the starting rotation for New York,” one NBA scout told SI Fastbreak. There is a belief around the league that the Knicks could entertain the idea of moving their All-Star power-forward in Julius Randle now before his value declines any further, especially with Obi Toppin's emergence. All season long, his minutes were very inconsistent. Toppin played really well for the Knicks when given time on the floor, yet he was really only able to showcase what he could do near the end of the season with Randle injured. Maybe the Knicks and Thibodeau can figure out ways to incorporate both Toppin and Randle into the starting rotation next season, but there have been trade rumors also swirling around Randle, starting around the trade deadline a few months ago. In 10 games without Julius Randle this season, Toppin recorded the only 10 starts of his career and looked nearly flawless on the floor, averaging 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 43.6% from three-point range in those games.Īfter scoring a career-high 35 points in the Knicks’ second-to-last game this year against the Washington Wizards, Toppin set another career-high in scoring with 42 points in the Knicks' final game of the season against the Toronto Raptors in Madison Square Garden.Ĭhants of “Obi! Obi! Obi!” rained down from the very top row of The Garden, as the eighth overall pick of the Knicks back in 2020 gave fans something to cheer about late in the year. Leon Rose recently spoke at the conclusion of the regular season about his team’s season and claimed that both the organization would like to keep Randle and that the All-Star forward would like to remain in New York, but there seems to be a very weird feeling around this topic right now, especially given how well second-year forward Obi Toppin played to close out the year. Randle was originally drafted seventh overall in 2014 by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks originally signed the former Kentucky Wildcat in 2019 to a three-year, $63 million deal after he had spent one season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
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