The New York Knicks and Julius Randle are at a crossroads.
Randle is currently eligible for an extension with the Knicks. Randle, 29, is set to make $28.9 million this season and has a player option worth $30.9 million for the 2025-26 season. If Randle declines it, he will be eligible to become a free agent next June.
A max extension for Randle would cost about $181 million.
Randle has been eligible for an extension since early August, but so far there has been no indication that one will be granted.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his “Lowe Post” podcast: that he doesn’t “expect” Randle to get an extension.
“That’s one of the big questions in the league right now,” Lowe said. “Julius Randle is eligible for an extension. There hasn’t been an extension. I don’t expect there to be one, just because the Knicks have to be very careful with their finances.”
As Lowe noted, giving Randle his max extension would propel the Knicks into the second apron, a financial threshold that severely limits how they could build their team.
Jalen Brunson signed his four-year, $156 million contract extension this summer in part to give the Knicks the financial breathing room to avoid a second term. Hiring Randle at his full potential would essentially negate the benefits Brunson has brought to the team.
Sure, Randle may not feel compelled to make any kind of discount to the Knicks. He’s a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player, and he once played on a contract that was favorable to him. Randle missed the Knicks’ playoff run, but he’s surely heard the rumors that the Knicks would be good if healthy — in other words, they missed Randle.
Further complicating the nature of the extension is the fact that Randle isn’t a great fit for the Knicks. Last year, the Knicks reshaped themselves into a Brunson-led offense with a slew of guards and wings who could shoot, defend and make plays around him.
Randle, for all his offensive skills, is a natural power forward who is not a great shooter, cannot change positions easily and is not a solid defender.
The Knicks’ record without Randle doesn’t bear this out, but some believe the Knicks would be better off in the long run without Randle.
On “The Lowe Post,” ESPN’s NBA front office insider Bobby Marks suggested that Randle might have to agree to a discounted contract extension with the Knicks, noting that there aren’t many teams that will be able to pay Randle if he becomes a free agent.
There is another option, which could explain why an extension hasn’t happened yet. The Knicks could play Randle this season and then pick up his player option for 2025-26, SO He would have to sign an extension. Such a deal would allow Randle to remain with the team and pay his salary, while also providing the Knicks with two more seasons of salary cap relief before reaching the second apron.
There’s still time for Randle and the Knicks to agree on an extension, but with training camp just weeks away, the discussion about Randle’s future will only intensify.
