Knicks' Julius Randle decides to shake off criticisms
Julius Randle of the Knicks controls the ball during the first quarter against the Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Julius Randle was isolated from the Knicks for nearly a week while he waited to clear his way back through the NBA’s health and safety protocols. But he felt fine health-wise while he was out. His mood though, was a different story.
Randle has absorbed much of the blame on his shoulders for the Knicks struggles this season. And while he may say he doesn’t care about the criticisms in the media or the taunts from the crowd at Madison Square Garden after they serenaded him last season with chants of MVP, he clearly has heard the critiques and he isn’t thrilled.
Randle refused to speak last Wednesday in Detroit before going into protocols in Oklahoma City. And then after returning to the team with a 30-point, 16-rebound performance Tuesday the fans chanted, "RJ Barrett" while he was at the foul line, acknowledging the play of Barrett, who scored 19 of his 32 points in the first quarter. Then Randle again refused media requests to speak.
Finally, he spoke to reporters at the team’s practice facility Wednesday afternoon and made his point.
Asked about the burdens of becoming a star last season and now having to live with the pressures, he dismissed it.
"Just come in every day, attack every day, do my job," Randle told reporters. "Really don’t give a [expletive] what anybody has to say, to be honest. I’m out there playing. Nobody knows the game out there better than I do, compared to what everybody has to say. So I really don’t give a [expletive]. I just go out there and play."
Randle certainly does care, as his silence and now his words, exemplified. But he insisted that what he cares about is that he is respected by those within the organization — his teammates, coach Tom Thibodeau and the front office that signed him to a four-year, $106 million extension over the summer.
"That’s for you guys to judge," Randle said. "My teammates appreciate me, my coaches, organization. Leon [Rose], [William Wesley], [Tom Thibodeau]. Everyone appreciates me. That’s all I need. I don't care about nothing else."
Randle’s play has not been the same as it was last season when he earned second-team All-NBA honors. His numbers have dipped offensively and the team has struggled during his time on the floor. Whether that is a regression to the norm after hitting career highs last season or a reflection of the revamped roster he has been working with, something hasn’t been right.
But that doesn’t change the fact that the Knicks desperately need Randle, for his own performance and for the opportunities he creates for others by drawing double teams.
"He makes us different," Thibodeau said. "And that’s his gift. He can play with speed, he can play with power, he can make decisions, he can force the defense to collapse. He can get the second defender."
The Knicks certainly benefited from having him back Tuesday after losing the two games he sat out while in protocols, and with a home-and-home set with Boston. Randle traveled on his own from Oklahoma City to his home in Dallas and then flew back to New York Monday to join the team.
"I was sick like two weeks ago, three weeks ago," Randle said. "When everybody was testing positive, that’s when I thought I had it. I had a lot of symptoms there. When I tested positive, I was fine."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
