Julius Randle, a single Lakers lottery player, hasn’t forgotten his roots or end.
With the Lakers facing the resurgent Knicks Monday in the garden, seeing the purple and gold still do something for Randle, who wore the colors for four seasons.
When asked after the Knicks’ Sunday night win over the Raptors if it was still very special to face the Lakers, Randle said, “Always.”
In the pandemic era of Knicks in the Zoom interviews, journalists are not allowed to follow up questions and the session ended before I could expose it.
But the message has been sent. Randle, the Knicks ’wrecking ball, has yet to finish how he ended up with the Lakers after his four-year contract expired.
In January 2020, when Randle faced the Lakers in Los Angeles, he admitted he had strange feelings about leaving the team as a free agent to sign with New Orleans in July 2018, when LeBron James got on board.
“It wasn’t the right situation,” Randle said 15 months ago. “I wish it had worked differently? I don’t get into that. It was known as it was supposed to. I am happy where I am now. Everything in life happens for a reason. The highs and lows of life happen for a reason. He made me the person I am today and I am extremely happy to be a knick. “
He is even more ecstatic now that he has become an All-Star for the first time, he led the Knicks back in the playoffs as the garden is filled with “MV-P” chants when he is in the free throw line.
Randle is a triple-double threat every night, already with five in the season. With an average of 22.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists, the latter doubles last season’s mark.
In fact, as a highlight forward, Randle is LeBron’s left of a poor man, except a little healthier. Randle played in 53 of 54 matches. James has reached 41 games due to his strong hamstring strain.
There have been reports that the Lakers did not want to give Randle a long-term deal after James got on board because they wanted to save cover space the following summer for Anthony Davis, also a client of Rich Paul.
It has worked as the Lakers used the cover space to facilitate Davis ’trade before last season and the Lakers won the NBA 2020 championship in the Orlando bubble.
James and Davis did not dress up in the garden on Monday. Both have been injured for long periods and may be more than a week away from defending their title again.
A recent SB Nation report suggested Randle did not want to play with James in any way, which he told the Lakers to let him become an unrestricted free agent once King James signed.
Perhaps that was his significance when he spoke with writers from New York to Los Angeles in January 2020 before the Knicks faced the Lakers.
“Am I surprised you didn’t come back here? It’s a business, brother. I’m not surprised, “said Randle. “If the situation was right, it would have been. It was not the right situation. “
When asked to explain, Randle said, “You have to ask [general manager] Rob Pelinka. This situation already existed. I don’t want to go into details about why and why not. I had a great experience in New Orleans and now I am here. And it’s a great experience here. Ended with “.
Randle spent four seasons with the Lakers, he was there for Kobe Bryant’s last campaign. He was devastated, like many, by his death.
Bryant had a big influence and, for Randle, it must be, moreover, dreamy that his mentor is not alive to see him finally emerge as a star.
Randle happily remembered Bryant’s last game when he scored 60 points in 50 shooting attempts. Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of this contest.
“He didn’t have to say it, we talked to each other as players who got every shot and we passed the ball to him every time,” Randle said on JJ Redick’s podcast in February. “It simply came to our notice then. You saw the game: the first 15 shots, he made two. We were worried. But he turned the switch on, buddy, and it was one of the few times I saw the real Black Mamba go up all season. The boy was going crazy. “
During a moment when Bryant came in to Randle to take him to the court, the current Knicks standout said he was going to shoot. Bryant replied, “What, do you want the arena to hit you?”