The New York Knicks have been looking to get rid of Julius Randle for several months.
Aside from one impressive season, which not-too-coincidentally came in a contract year, Randle has largely been a disappointment in the Big Apple and more of a nuisance than legitimate asset.
In recent weeks, rumors began to circulate that the Los Angeles Lakers may have interest in acquiring him. The rationale for this was never provided, but it became a somewhat popular theory.
This week, a definitive answer regarding that move came down.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, L.A. has zero interest in acquiring Randle at the moment.
“The Lakers aren’t interested in taking back Julius Randle from the Knicks, considering his contract (three years plus a player option on the fourth year) and less-than-ideal fit with Davis and James,” Buha reported.
“The Spurs don’t have much to offer aside from absorbing Westbrook’s contract, which is certainly beneficial for the Lakers, but not at the cost of two first-round picks.”
None of this should come as a surprise. Yes, the Lakers want to get rid of Westbrook – but even they have their limits.
Over the past week L.A. has been linked to two major trades: one with the Utah Jazz and another with the Chicago Bulls. Either deal would make significantly more sense than one with the Knicks for Randle.
At this point, the Lakers would be better served just hunkering down and not losing key players from last year than going out and adding dead weight just for the sake of making moves.
Yikes. https://t.co/jZ0wq8dyEa
— Game 7 (@game7__) August 24, 2022
Losing Malik Monk to the Sacramento Kings was a blow. Now Los Angeles is facing the prospect of another one of their key role players getting stolen away by the Brooklyn Nets.
Randle has zero place on this Lakers squad. Thankfully, the oft-confused front office seems to understand that and won’t make another terrible mistake a la the Westbrook acquisition.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
