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

Possible destination No. 2: Denver Nuggets

One would have to try really hard to find an area where Mike Malone’s team is currently bleeding when it comes to the offensive spectrum of things. The scoring, shooting and ball movement are all off the charts and the team is set for yet another certain playoff appearance.

But what about the defensive end? Even though they are not bad whatsoever, they do need to take that next step, if they hope to one day challenge for the trophy. Their defense is far from perfect and the Los Angeles Lakers took full advantage of that in the 2020 playoffs.

As of today, their starting power forward is Paul Millsap, a great veteran to have on your team, though his best years are far behind him. He is not his old quick self that took full advantage of the size of his opponents.

Julius Randle, on the other hand, is a much younger version of Millsap, as the two share quite a few similarities. Both like to handle the basketball and get everyone involved as that “point forward” role that LeBron James has perfected throughout the years.

Their respective abilities to score in the post should make this a smooth transition for Randle. His frontcourt superstar partner, Nikola Jokic, is known as a below-average defender and pairing him up with an athletic hustle player like Randle just seems like the right thing to do.

Even though the Denver Nuggets would be an ideal destination for Randle, there is one glaring flaw with this plan. Barring any potential ischaemic strokes that would somehow send Michael Porter Jr. straight to the New York, the Knicks should not be expecting anything more than Gary Harris and Will Barton in a trade.