East Notes: Knicks, Julius Randle, Pistons, Nets, Ben Simmons

Knicks

Power forward Julius Randle is the only member of the Knicks to play in every game this season and suggested he’s no fan of load management.

“I just put way too much into my body to cheat myself out of being available for my team,” Randle said, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

• Guard Immanuel Quickley is becoming a top-notch sixth man, along the lines of a Lou Williams, noted Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “Any time you get mentioned with any great players like Lou Williams, anybody that’s won Sixth Man of the Year, it’s definitely something that’s pretty cool,” Quickley said, via Braziller.
• Guard Jalen Brunson will have his sore left foot evaluated Monday. “I don’t think it’s anything serious,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “He just woke up with soreness. So we want to make sure he’s good.”

Pistons

Center James Wiseman has been showing strides since the February trade with the Warriors, with coach Dwane Casey saying Wiseman is still developing.

“Let’s keep it simple,” Casey said, via Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “Eventually we’ll do that. We’ve got to go through the process of elementary, middle school, high school and eventually he’ll get there. Like everything else, everybody wants him to be All-Pro and where we are right now, that’s not going to happen. He will eventually get there at some point on both ends of the floor.”

• Center/forward Marvin Bagley III has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games. “Marvin played with as much force as he’s played since he’s been here,” Casey said. “Really proud of the way he played. The amount of force he played with was really impressive against two of the top big men in the league.”
• There are no guarantees the Pistons will retain guard/forward Hamidou Diallo, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, per James Edwards III of The Athletic. Detroit may seek an upgrade at that spot instead, Edwards noted.

Nets

Along with trying to overcome a sore left knee, guard/forward Ben Simmons is also struggling with a back issue, coach Jacque Vaughn said.

“During his strengthening process he did experience some back soreness,” Vaughn said, via Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “So now we’re in the process of strengthening the knee while also managing the back.”

It’s unclear if Simmons’ recent issues are occurring in the same area of his back that was surgically repaired over the offseason, per Lewis.

Simmons has been a disappointment over the past two years. In the five games leading up to his most recent injury, he averaged a mere 3.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists, as noted by Alex Kirschenbaum of Hoops Rumors.

• The Nets are staying focused on trying to get baskets in transition. “We all can run the lanes and get out,” forward Mikal Bridges said, via Lewis. “So that’s why we always want to get stops, because I feel like we’re a tough team in transition. So that’s just the emphasis that we had, just getting out after getting stops, go in transition trying to get easy ones.”