Julius Randle, Knicks finding it hard to recreate last season's magic

In a city filled with the street-smart and the educated-smart — because you need to be one or the other to survive here — somehow clever New Yorkers were collectively conned by a small group of people. Do you know how hard that is to pull off here?

Well, strange but true: The citizens believed their beloved Knicks, based on last season’s small sample size of evidence, were now ready for prime-time — and that Julius Randle would lead them toward the top.

Essentially, millions fell hard for it, and what kind of sound is made on the pavement when that happens?

It all seems like a cruel and wicked tease in hindsight because the once-resurgent Knicks are once again struggling mightily. The same is true for Randle, their best player, who seems lost and bewildered.

Late-game collapses, losing streaks, turnovers and missed shots have all become the norm this season, where the Knicks are 24-30. And now, there’s a new addition to the list: Lashing out at laptops.

In the second half of their recent 122-115 overtime road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers — when they were powerless to prevent the Lakers’ comeback — there was a telling moment during a timeout. In the huddle, their video coordinator, Scott King, was trying to show a highlight — or maybe lowlight — to Randle, who wasn’t having any of it. Randle brushed aside the computer and turned away, and when King had something else to say, Randle stepped to him.

Julius Randle in computer altercation with Knicks assistant https://t.co/bzbkaGV1Xh pic.twitter.com/Ou4rDSeBB9

— New York Post (@nypost) February 7, 2022

The two were separated, and normally this would be minor heat-of-the-battle stuff, except it’s mushroomed by the problems with Randle and the overall flatlining of the Knicks, currently in 12th place in the East.

Randle is a gifted, 6-foot-9 forward and just 27, but he won’t be returning to the All-Star Game this season. His vital numbers are all down from his breakout 2020-21 campaign, and he isn’t rescuing the Knicks in late-game moments with the same regularity (he’s 43rd in clutch scoring this season after finishing 12th last season). Randle seems unable to fit the mold and definition of a superstar or endear himself to New Yorkers, whom he insulted last month with his now-infamous thumbs-down gesture toward the home crowd at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks are falling right along with him. They were the fourth seed in the East last season and had the city on hype, and that’s when it all came apart for Randle and the Knicks. He took a drastic step backward in the playoffs, and the Knicks lost to the lower-seeded Hawks in five first-round games. Things haven’t been the same since.

And so: What happened?

For starters, the expectations were too steep. This occurs when a city is so starved for a winner that reality gets pulled out of whack. Aside from a brief stretch with Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks haven’t done anything special for two decades. They haven’t won a championship in almost 50 years and won one playoff round in 20 years. Therefore, the desperate will embrace any positive signs, no matter how fleeting.

Same goes for Randle. Before arriving in New York, he was a solid young player with potential who just needed the right team and fit. He found it last season, and the fans, desperate as they were, saw a savior. So did the organization; they gave Randle a $117 million contract extension on the heels of his Kia Most Improved Player award-winning season. Curiously, though, some rival general managers at the time wondered if the Knicks would’ve been better off selling high when it came to Randle — trading him before last season’s deadline, or during the offseason. The Knicks were either too afraid or too convinced of Randle’s talent to do something that drastic.

“You shoot the ball well, you don’t shoot the ball well,” Randle said. “That’s basketball. Nothing’s changed for me.”

Randle is averaging a respectable 18.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, but it’s his dependability that’s suffering. Last season, Randle averaged 24.1 ppg and 10.2 rpg while shooting 45.6% overall and 41.1% on 3-pointers (a career-best) as he expanded his game and range and stopped relying primarily on left-handed power drives to the rim. In the playoffs, his raw numbers were solid (18.0 ppg, 11.6 rpg), but his shooting slumped to 29.8% overall and 33.3% on 3-pointers, raising questions about whether he can be a true star in the moment of truth. This season, his effective FG% is at 46.8% (after 51.6% last season) and those doubts are starting to settle in.

So is the frustration: Randle has warred with the fans, issued media boycotts — always tricky in New York — and has earned nine technical fouls, seventh-most in the league. The laptop issue was simply the latest.

And Randle is getting testy with all the trade talk, where suddenly, a segment of the populace might approve of him being shipped, which would’ve been unfathomable a year ago.

“Who reported it?” he asked repeatedly the other day when speculation was raised. “Sounds like gossip to me.”

The trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 10 and a few possibilities are swirling in media and league circles about Randle. But don’t expect any tipping of the hand from Knicks boss Leon Rose, who hasn’t spoken publicly about Randle, or the team, or anything for that matter, since September. He is adopting a vow of silence used by the last team leader who felt heat: Phil Jackson.

Randle’s struggles are part of the problem. With the exception of RJ Barrett, none of the key players in the rotation are better than a year ago. Kemba Walker has been a dud since arriving in the offseason, unable to stay healthy or in the starting lineup for long or attack the rim with his previous abandon. Second-year guard Immanuel Quickley isn’t improving and neither is Obi Toppin — both of whom were first-round picks in 2020. For Toppin, his dribbling and outside shooting remain major works in progress while Quickley has taken a step back after an All-Rookie second team run in 2020-21. Young center Mitchell Robinson is a decent rebounding big man but remains a project offensively.

Then there’s coach Tom Thibodeau, who received plenty of pats on the back last season and beat out Phoenix’s Monty Williams for Coach of the Year honors. How much blame should he get for the lack of development among the youth core and the drop in the standings?

Making matters worse is the Knicks are in the throes of a tough schedule ahead, with upcoming games in Denver on Tuesday (9 ET, NBA League Pass) and Golden State on Thursday (10 ET, NBA League Pass) as they have 10 of their next 14 overall on the road.

Randle recently said he’s “trying to win games” and given where he and the Knicks are at the moment, that’s getting harder to do. The competition is much tougher now, with Miami, Cleveland, Toronto and Chicago all improved, a few of them drastically. The Eastern Conference is suddenly deeper than in recent seasons. There’s no sympathy for those teams in a rut and they simply get left behind. For now, the Knicks are fighting for Play-In Tournament positioning.

There are tough decisions to be made in the coming days, mainly about Randle. Do they keep or trade him, and if the latter option is preferred, for what, exactly? At this stage, Randle’s value isn’t as high as it was one year ago (especially when factoring in his expensive extension).

The Knicks never expected to be in this position, where the trade deadline matters, where there’s uneasiness with their best player, where they’re nestled among the bottom five in the East.

It’s startling, to say the least. Almost as much as last year’s discovery.

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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