Julius Randle is back in New York, and this time the assignment looks a lot like the one he once handled for the Knicks.
That’s the strange little twist in his move to Brooklyn: the Nets are asking him to help steady a team coming off a 20-62 season, the same kind of rebuild work Randle used to do across town. He spoke this weekend about the similarities between joining the Nets and the role he had when he first landed with the Knicks, saying there are similarities and pointing to the experience he has now compared to when he first came to New York.
The comparison makes sense. Randle arrived in 2019, when the Knicks were still trying to present themselves as a real NBA team again.
It was a messy stretch, but it mattered. He gave them a regular-season engine, a nightly identity, and enough force to help pull the franchise out of its worst years.
The difference now is obvious. The Knicks are champions, which changes how his New York story reads.
Randle is no longer the face of where they’re headed. He’s part of the road that got them there.
For Brooklyn, though, he still has plenty to offer. He averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists last season, and that production gives the Nets something concrete to work with. He can score, he can pass, he can draw attention, and he can make life easier for younger players.
That’s the practical case for him in Brooklyn: not as a savior, but as a stabilizer. A mentor. A veteran who can help a young group understand pace, spacing, physicality, and what it takes to keep showing up when the losses start stacking up.
Randle also said he is 13 years in and used to trade talk after playing in New York. That kind of experience matters in a market where noise comes with the territory. The Nets can use someone who won’t get rattled by pressure or daily rumors.
The Knicks, meanwhile, have already moved on to a different place entirely. With Jalen Brunson, a title, and a core that has already passed the test, they don’t need to worry about the version of Randle that once carried them through the grind.
Brooklyn may be hoping he can help launch its climb. Knicks fans, having already lived through the Randle rebuild, know exactly how that story can go.
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That decision also lands in the middle of a broader fight over how much the NBAs current system should squeeze teams and players alike. NBPA executive director David Kelly has been openly critical of the second apron and the way it can put the financial burden on players when clubs want to keep a contender together, a debate that has only grown louder as more teams weigh flexibility against spending. [Read more 🡒]