New York Knicks: 5 teams that need a Julius Randle trade

In an opening quarter of the season full of pleasant surprises, the New York Knicks have found themselves in playoff contention. It’s been a while since anyone has mouthed these words and the curse seems to have been lifted.

The Knicks are currently 0.5 games behind that 8th spot, as they’ve been entering and exiting the Elite 8 continuously so far. With the league’s play-in tournament finally taking place, this gives Knicks fans even more hope of playoff basketball in the following spring.

For the first time in almost a decade, things are running smoothly in New York, as coach Tom Thibodeau has given Knicks fans a reason to tune in every other night. But, daunting as it may seem, this could actually be the perfect time to blow up the roster.

These wins have come at the hands of some terrific basketball players. For a team solely based on its young talent, this extraordinary group has shown great maturity and has managed to defeat some of the league’s top teams, some of them by a large margin as well.

With the New York Knicks improving drastically in every aspect of the game, Julius Randle has seen an increase in his stock.

General managers around the country have started taking notice. The same guys that were considered irrelevant in 2019-20, find themselves in award talk this season.

The most glaring example is Julius Randle. A player that was considered a defensive liability and a turnover machine is now paving his way to the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.

Even though it’s heartwarmingly pleasant to finally witness some kind of success in Madison Square Garden, one has to think about the future. With so many ball-dominant players like RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin around, are Randle’s services really needed?

Randle is on a team friendly two-year, $38.7 million contract, given his development as of late. His contract expires in the upcoming summer, though he has a team-option for the 2021-22 season.

His trade value is at an all-time high, reaching GameStop levels due to his elevated level of play. If the Knicks were to ever trade his expiring contract away, now is the time. Let’s take a look at some of the teams in desperate need of a power forward.