Former Knicks general manager Scott Perry says the organization should sign three-time All-Star Julius Randle to a contract extension.
“The Knicks should definitely sign Julius Randle to an extension, and here’s why,” Perry said in an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today on Monday. “The Knicks are in desperate need of having that reliable second scorer. We saw that they missed that in the playoffs. [Jalen Brunson] needs somebody to be able to take the load off of him when other teams try to go after him, and double-team him, and scheme [against] him.
“Julius has a personal connection with this organization. He’s played for Thibs for the last four years. He has a connection with his teammates, the front office. He knows what it’s like to play in New York. He has unfinished business playing in New York. He wants to help take this team not only to a conference championship, but also to an NBA Finals. You definitely gotta re-sign him because he’s reliable, he’s tough and he fits well with this group in my opinion.”
Randle became eligible for a four-year, $181.5 million max contract extension on Saturday, and he has one guaranteed year left on his current contract and wields the power to test free agency next summer.
If the Knicks do not re-sign him this summer, he will be eligible to sign a 10-year veteran max contract worth 35 percent of the salary cap, or a five-year deal in excess of $300 million.
And if Randle were to leave for another team in free agency next summer, the Knicks, who already have $152.9 million in guaranteed salaries committed to the 2025-26 season, would not have the cap space to sign another star-level player on the open market. Their best route to do so, if they do not believe Randle is the fit to lift this roster to championship heights, is to trade the All-Star forward for a star-level player by the February NBA Trade Deadline.
Randle averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists through 46 games last season before dislocating his right shoulder in late January and later opting for season-ending surgery.
Without him, the Knicks made a run to the Eastern Conference’s second seed and, despite a battered roster, made it to Game 7 of the conference semifinals, where they lost at Madison Square Garden to the Indiana Pacers.
Perry helped spearhead the efforts both to land Randle as a free agent in 2019 and sign him to a contract extension in 2021. He became Knicks general manager in 2017 and spent six seasons with the team before Knicks president Leon Rose declined to renew his expiring contract.
Perry, who worked alongside former Knicks president Steve Mills, was part of the decision-making process that resulted in selecting Kevin Knox ninth-overall in 2018 despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Mikal Bridges and Michael Porter Jr. still present on the board.
But he was also part of the process that led to drafting Mitchell Robinson in the second round in 2018, and Perry traded Marcus Morris Sr. to the Los Angeles Lakers for a first-round pick that was later used to select Immanuel Quickley in 2020.
Quickley was later included in the deal with the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa.
Randle’s extension-eligibility comes weeks after the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $156.5 million contract, a deal viewed as historic given Brunson left $113 million on the table to help the Knicks maintain cap flexibility to build a championship-caliber roster.
Bridges will be eligible to sign a two-year, $77 million extension on Oct. 1.
Originally Published:
