Julius Randle did not forget his roots – nor the end.
With the Lakers, who face Knicks resources at the Garden on Monday, seeing purple and gold does something else to Randle, who has worn the colors for four seasons.
When asked after Sunday night’s Knicks victory over the Raptors if it was still particularly special to face the Lakers, Randle said, “Always.”
In the era of the Knicks pandemic of Zoom interviews, reporters are not allowed follow-up questions and the session ended before he could expose.
But the message was sent. Randle, Knicks’ wrecked ball, has yet to finish as he finished with the Lakers after his four-year rookie contract expired.
In January 2020, when Randle faced the Lakers in Los Angeles, he admitted that he had strange feelings about leaving the team as a free agent to sign with New Orleans in July 2018, when LeBron James came on board.
“It wasn’t the right situation,” Randle said 15 months ago. “I wish it worked differently? I don’t get into what it is. It worked as it should. I’m happy where I am now. Everything in life happens for a reason. The heights and lows of life happen for a reason. It made me the person I am today and I am extremely happy to be a Knick. ”
He’s even more ecstatic now, when he first became an All-Star, carrying the Knicks on his back in the playoffs, while the Garden fills with “MV-P” songs when he’s on the free throw line.
Randle is a triple-double threat every night – already with five in the season. He has an average of 22.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists – the latter doubling last season’s mark.
In fact, as a preeminent point before, Randle is now a poor LeBron man – except a little healthier. Randle played in 53 of 54 games. James reached 41 games due to his severe hamstring disorder.
It was reported that the Lakers would not want to give Randle a long-term deal after James came on board because next summer they wanted to save ceiling space for Anthony Davis, also a client of Rich Paul.
It worked as the Lakers used the headspace to facilitate the exchange for Davis before last season, and the Lakers won the NBA 2020 Orlando Ball Championship.
James and Davis did not dress at the Garden on Monday. Both have been injured for long periods of time and may be more than a week away from returning to defend their title.
A recent SB Nation report suggested that Randle did not want to play with James anyway, that he told the Lakers to let him become an unrestricted free agent once King James signed.
Maybe that was his meaning when he spoke with writers from New York to Los Angeles in January 2020 before the Knicks faced the Lakers.
“Am I surprised I didn’t come back here? It’s a business, brother. I’m not surprised, “Randle said. “If the situation had been right, I would have been. It was not the right situation. ”
Asked to explain, Randle said, “You have to ask [general manager] Rob Pelinka. This situation is in the past. I don’t want to go into details about why and why not. I had a great experience in New Orleans and now I’m here. And it’s a wonderful experience here. It’s over with. “
Randle spent four seasons with the Lakers, was there for Kobe Bryant’s last campaign. He was devastated – like many – by his death.
Bryant has been a big influence and it must also be gloomy for Randle that his mentor is not alive to see him finally come out as a star.
Randle happily recalled Bryant’s last game when he scored 60 points on 50 strikeouts. Tuesday is the fifth anniversary of that contest.
“He didn’t have to say it, we talked as players that he got every shot and we gave him the ball every time,” Randle said on JJ Redick’s podcast in February. “It simply came to our notice then. You watched the game – the first 15 photos, he took two. We were worried. But he turned the switch over, bro, and it was one of the few times in the whole season that I saw the real Black Mamba coming. The man was going crazy. “
At a time when Bryant entered Randle to bring him in front of the field, the current remarkable Knicks said he was going to shoot. Bryant replied, “What, do you want the arena to boo you?”