Report: Knicks’ Julius Randle’s Trade Value ‘Neutral At Best’

According to NBA reporter Fred Katz of The Athletic, Julius Randle‘s trade value is “neutral at best.”

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

“Here’s what makes discussions about hypothetical Randle trades so difficult: I don’t believe there is a team in the NBA that would value the three-time All-Star more than the Knicks do,” Katz wrote. “I texted this question to someone who works in a rival team’s front office and received an answer I expected: ‘Neutral, at best,’ the person said.

“Randle’s contract is fair. He makes $28.9 million this season and can become a free agent next summer. But the fear of having to pay him, especially when his skill set makes him such a specific fit, makes it difficult to find suitors willing to give up any package that would be worth it for the Knicks.”

Randle is eligible to sign an extension with the New York Knicks. 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. 

“The Knicks are holding onto Randle for now, and he enters the upcoming season with an argument as the team’s most important player,” Katz wrote. 

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.

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 out of Kentucky.