Tom Thibodeau is open to playing Julius Randle at center next season, but he fears that overexposing the All-Star to too much physicality could wear down his body. “We’ll probably have to do (center) by committee,” Thibodeau told veteran writer Steve Aschburner in a Q&A; published Tuesday on NBA.com. “We’ll look at some different things, because we have versatility — we could see Julius more at the 5. I don’t want to do that for long stretches, it would take its toll, but to have him do it for 10 or 15 minutes, I think he can do it well. He also would create a lot of [offensive] advantages.”
Source: New York Post
Source: New York Post
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Pick a starting 5:
Knicks
Brunson
Bridges
OG
Randle
Robinson
76ers
Maxey
Oubre
PG13
Martin
Embiid pic.x.com/aroyu4ecw3 – 9:59 AM
Pick a starting 5:
Knicks
Brunson
Bridges
OG
Randle
Robinson
76ers
Maxey
Oubre
PG13
Martin
Embiid pic.x.com/aroyu4ecw3 – 9:59 AM
More on this storyline
“I think Julius has always adapted to whatever challenge he’s faced each year,” Thibodeau said. “People forget the level that he’s played at. Four years ago, he had a monster season and we didn’t have the shooting we have now, so the floor is going to be more open. We got a glimpse of that in January, which was his last month of basketball.” -via New York Post / September 17, 2024
“We lost [Isaiah] Hartenstein, which is what we’ll have to replace,” Thibodeau said. “But I think we have versatility, where we can play smaller at times because of OG’s ability to guard big. Julius and [Josh] Hart can guard big as well.” -via New York Post / September 17, 2024
We noted in July that a contract extension was not at the forefront for either Randle or the Knicks. That remains the case today, less than three weeks from the start of training camp. Regarding the extension, I’m not sure what would change between now and the start of the season to get a deal done. So it seems as if both sides are prepared to go into the year without an extension. -via SportsNet New York / September 13, 2024