Knicks fans may not have loved how the first day of free agency has shaken out — with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving choosing to play for the hipsters in Williamsburg over them — but they are going to love watching Julius Randle play.
The Knicks had their eye on Randle and now have agreed to terms with the high-energy bully forward reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Free agent Julius Randle has agreed to a three-year, $63M deal with the New York Knicks, CAA agents Aaron Mintz and Steve Heumann tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
The deal is team friendly.
The three-year, $63 million deal Julius Randle agreed to with the New York Knicks contains a team option on the final year, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 30, 2019
Randle averaged 21.4 points and 8.7 rebounds a game last season in New Orleans, although he hunted those numbers a bit (especially after Anthony Davis sidelined himself). Randle has a throwback game, he uses his strength and athleticism to bully his way to the rim, but he also shot 34.4 percent from three. The Pelicans were willing to let him walk after drafting Zion Williamson.
Randle should fit with the young Knicks such as R.J. Barrett, Kevin Knox, and Mitchel Robinson. We’ll see how the Knicks choose to round out their roster, but this is a nice fallback pickup.
