Blockbuster Trade Proposal Sends Knicks’ Julius Randle To Hornets

NBA insider Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report proposed that the Charlotte Hornets acquire Julius Randle from the New York Knicks. 

Here’s the mock trade between the Hornets, Knicks and Washington Wizards:

Knicks get: Grant Williams, Nick Richards, $15.9 million trade exception, $2.1 million trade exception

Hornets get: Julius Randle, Jericho Sims, Corey Kispert, Marvin Bagley III

Wizards get: Josh Green, Cody Martin, 2025 Wizards protected first-rounder (from Knicks), 2025 Detroit Pistons protected first-rounder (from Knicks)

Randle will make $28.9 million next season. He can become a free agent next offseason.

A Kentucky product, Randle is eligible to sign an extension. New York can offer the All-Star a contract as big as $181.5 million over four years. 

The 29-year-old Randle appeared in 46 games in 2023-24. He averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks while shooting 47.2% from the floor, 31.1% from beyond the arc and 78.1% from the free-throw line. 

Randle signed with the Knicks in the offseason of 2019 after playing for the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2018-19 season. He’s averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks in a New York uniform.

The Knicks signed Randle to a four-year, $117 million extension in August 2021. Randle won the 2020-21 Most Improved Player of the Year Award.

A three-time All-Star, Randle has career averages of 19.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks with the Los Angeles Lakers, Pelicans and Knicks. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Lakers.

“The Knicks grew into a playoff team with Randle, but the team’s identity has evolved,” Pincus wrote in his NBA trade proposal. “Randle isn’t near the tier of LeBron James, but their games have similarities as big, strong, physical shot creators. With the emergence of the Villanova Knicks (Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and now Bridges), Randle is an expensive ball-stopper that just doesn’t fit anymore.

“The Hornets recently traded for Green from the Mavericks, an opportunistic move generated by Klay Thompson‘s decision to join Dallas via sign-and-trade. Giving up on him before he plays a game in Charlotte may seem odd, but the opportunity to add an All-Star in Randle is rare for a team like the Hornets.”