New York Knicks: 3 players likely to struggle in 2020-21

1. Julius Randle

The 2020-21 NBA season will go one of two ways for Julius Randle. Either a) he gets moved prior to the trade deadline, or b) he accepts the fact that Toppin is the franchise’s cornerstone. The latter could obviously mean that the team’s highest-paid player comes off the bench.

If it were up to the fans, the decision would come lickety-split. Obi is a born-and-raised New Yorker, grew up a fan of the team and brings a unique skillset to the team that mostly resembles a young Amar’e Stoudemire that can shoot better than most wing players.

Randle, on the other hand, was the team’s last resort in the disastrous summer of 2019. They inked him to a large contract after failing to get a hold of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who ended up moving just a few area codes away, in Brooklyn.

The phrase “Trade Julius Randle” seems to have become the franchise’s new motto, following other unique gems like “Sell the team, Dolan”. Ultimately, Randle was perfectly fine last season, though he did dip a little, following his breakout 2018-19 season.

At the end of the day, when dealing with a team with an extremely small chance at making the playoffs, you’d rather have the young guys develop than seeing Randle backing up to the basket with no clue as to what’s going on around him. Is he being double-teamed? Is someone open? Does he even have the ball? All three of these scenarios are equally likely.