Last year, the NBA got excited just before the resumption of the regular season with the arrival of Damian Lillard in Milwaukee. The emblematic leader of Portland had a rather difficult adaptation, in particular because of physical problems but also because he had to digest a divorce and now live far from his children.
This year, it is the trade between Minnesota and New York which has ignited the last few weeks, Karl-Anthony Towns having joined the Knicks while Donte DiVincenzo And Julius Randle were heading in the opposite direction, towards the Wolves. As we saw last night against Dallas with his 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, the integration of Julius Randle on the field is going rather well, with a coach he knows in a role that suits him , between scorer and creator for his teammates.
It was more off the field that Julius Randle had to manage the uncertainties, in relation to his family, and in particular his eldest son whom he had to convince that being transferred to Minneapolis was good news.
“The way it affected my family, that was the biggest thing”, he told Andscape. “My oldest son was at school. He will be eight years old in December. He had been going to school with his best friends for two and a half years, and they had started school again. It was hard for him. That's what was really the most complicated. I told him the news by being honest, telling him that I had been traded to Minnesota. I told him it was going to be the best thing for him, for our family, and for me personally. I tried to find little things to get him excited. He's a big fan of wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. Then he was happy to know that Anthony Edwards was going to be on the team, that we were going to have a new home… We just had to find little things to excite him a little.”
Last minute changes of plans
These “sides” may seem insignificant, but players must deal with the moods of their loved ones and their families. This is also what can explain a difficult integration or a transition that is more complicated or longer than expected. For Julius Randle, everything went pretty well. However, everything happened very quickly.
“I was really thrown into this when we were so close to training camp. The start of the training camp was planned in two or three days. My mindset was to go to Charleston (North Carolina, where the Knicks are now) to attack the season. It took me a night or two to accept that I wasn't going to go.”he added. “It’s not that I thought I could never be traded. I knew there were discussions underway. But I thought it would happen more during the season, or rather as the trade deadline approached, because the summer had already passed. I was a little shocked by the timing. But I was happy with where I was going, that’s for sure.”
Time will tell who is the big winner from this trade, but Julius Randle has not lowered his ambitions.
“I’m really excited, on every level. In terms of quality of life, frankness, coaches and the way of doing things here. It's truly a breath of fresh air for me. We can be really good. We can have a special group. If we fight, we can be really good.”
| Julius Randle | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2014-15 | LAL | 1 | 14 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| 2015-16 | LAL | 81 | 28 | 42.9 | 27.8 | 71.5 | 2.1 | 8.1 | 10.2 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 11.3 |
| 2016-17 | LAL | 74 | 29 | 48.8 | 27.0 | 72.3 | 2.0 | 6.6 | 8.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 13.2 |
| 2017-18 | LAL | 82 | 27 | 55.8 | 22.2 | 71.8 | 2.2 | 5.8 | 8.0 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 16.1 |
| 2018-19 | NOP | 73 | 31 | 52.4 | 34.4 | 73.1 | 2.2 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 21.4 |
| 2019-20 | NYK | 64 | 33 | 46.0 | 27.7 | 73.3 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 19.5 |
| 2020-21 | NYK | 71 | 38 | 45.6 | 41.1 | 81.1 | 1.2 | 9.0 | 10.2 | 6.0 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 24.1 |
| 2021-22 | NYK | 72 | 35 | 41.1 | 30.8 | 75.6 | 1.7 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 20.1 |
| 2022-23 | NYK | 77 | 36 | 45.9 | 34.3 | 75.7 | 1.8 | 8.1 | 10.0 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 25.1 |
| 2023-24 | NYK | 46 | 35 | 47.2 | 31.1 | 78.1 | 2.2 | 7.0 | 9.2 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 24.0 |
| 2024-25 | MIN | 4 | 35 | 60.7 | 62.5 | 71.4 | 2.0 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 23.2 |
| Total | 645 | 32 | 47.1 | 33.5 | 74.8 | 2.0 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 19.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
