EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Panos wrote:

fishmike wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Kemet wrote:RJ Barrett's B.Ball IQ are so low after 3 NBA seasons of being a 40 minute NBA starter having the Green-light to shoot 16 or more shots per game. Barret's ball-handle and passing-skills were so bad his first two seasons in the NBA that the Knicks post season games against the Hawks back-court guards (Trae, Lou, Huerter, and Bogdanovic) all embarrassed RJ Barrett throughout the series on both sides of the court making the Knicks coaching staff see with much clarity that RJ Barrett is a poor SG, the next season Barrett was put at the SF position inwhich Barrett did improve on his inconsistency performance by midseason, and started passing the ball more.
As a Closer, or clutch-player RJ Barrett grades a C- minus.
Second-season Anthony Edwards were right Knicks opponents want RJ Barrett to take the last shot !!!

The first year he wasn't allowed to shoot he way he'd spent the summer practicing because Fizzle told him not to, and Randle and Alfred Payton froze him out of the offense and refused to pass to him. Year two he was used a lot as a catch and shoot corner three guy. This season was the first where he was given the ball so much and that didn't really happen until we got rid of Walker.

Kemet has a really weird thing with hating on RJ and just kinda making up stuff up about how bad he is or what he cant or doesnt do. Its weird. Kid's 21 coming off a 21/6/3 season. Yeah he's gotta get more eff% but he passes most of the eye tests and keeps getting better

I've pretty much got him on virtual ignore.

its so dumb. IDK how good RJ is going to be, but he's 21, putting up good numbers and he plays defense and is dedicated to being good on that side of the ball as well. He's gonna get paid at least once. Then we'll see if he more Andrew Wiggins or more Jimmy Butler.

I know Randle is everyone's emotional whipping boy here and they all want him gone. I am not really in that boat, but the thing that has me leaning that way is RJ and his leadership. He's a gym rat and works as hard as anyone in the NBA (except may Quickly). Regardless of how good RJ ends up being if you turn over team leadership to him you are gonna have a very hard working crew that plays D. Always thought Thibs/RJ was a perfect match and still do.

I am in the same position as you. My take on Randle is that he has become inefficient on offense but is still a plus defender, rebounder and passer from the PF position. I think if he accept a role that accentuated those strengths (while keeping his head straight) he is capable of being that player on a championship team. I really think Randle needs to make Draymond Green his role model. Randle probably thinks he is better than Green and that's part of the problem.

The question for Barrett is what is his next step. He took the leadership role. His efficiency needs to get better. I think it will. But the Wiggins/Butler comparisons are reasonable. I think he will improve though. He puts the work in.

Randle can defend but only when he is motivated to do so.... and he takes waaaayyyy too much time off on that end of things. For me, he will NEVER be a plus defender. Never ever, he has already proved that to all of us.

Those moment(s) Randle took "off" clearly stand out in the minds of posters on this forum despite the overwhelming body of work he has to the contrary. Overall, his statistics show he is a good defender. 2022 showed he is not in the right headspace.

He generally has good footwork on defense, doesn't get bodied, keeps his weight down, keeps his position. He doesn't get a lot of blocks and there aren't a lot of post up players from the PF these days, so he is often guarding out to the 3pt line. He seems to rotate well enough. Knicks need a bit more of a defensive leader -- loud mouth to speak up and talk more during plays. I dunno. I only watched about 30 out of 82 games this year, so maybe I missed a lot of nonsense that others are referencing, but I never had too much issue with his defense. His shot selection on the other hand...

Randle has the ability to play defense. He chooses not to all the time. That's effort. Effort is a skill. Randle does not have that full out skill.

It's the one thing you can literally have full control over as a player.

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Panos wrote:

fishmike wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Kemet wrote:RJ Barrett's B.Ball IQ are so low after 3 NBA seasons of being a 40 minute NBA starter having the Green-light to shoot 16 or more shots per game. Barret's ball-handle and passing-skills were so bad his first two seasons in the NBA that the Knicks post season games against the Hawks back-court guards (Trae, Lou, Huerter, and Bogdanovic) all embarrassed RJ Barrett throughout the series on both sides of the court making the Knicks coaching staff see with much clarity that RJ Barrett is a poor SG, the next season Barrett was put at the SF position inwhich Barrett did improve on his inconsistency performance by midseason, and started passing the ball more.
As a Closer, or clutch-player RJ Barrett grades a C- minus.
Second-season Anthony Edwards were right Knicks opponents want RJ Barrett to take the last shot !!!

The first year he wasn't allowed to shoot he way he'd spent the summer practicing because Fizzle told him not to, and Randle and Alfred Payton froze him out of the offense and refused to pass to him. Year two he was used a lot as a catch and shoot corner three guy. This season was the first where he was given the ball so much and that didn't really happen until we got rid of Walker.

Kemet has a really weird thing with hating on RJ and just kinda making up stuff up about how bad he is or what he cant or doesnt do. Its weird. Kid's 21 coming off a 21/6/3 season. Yeah he's gotta get more eff% but he passes most of the eye tests and keeps getting better

I've pretty much got him on virtual ignore.

its so dumb. IDK how good RJ is going to be, but he's 21, putting up good numbers and he plays defense and is dedicated to being good on that side of the ball as well. He's gonna get paid at least once. Then we'll see if he more Andrew Wiggins or more Jimmy Butler.

I know Randle is everyone's emotional whipping boy here and they all want him gone. I am not really in that boat, but the thing that has me leaning that way is RJ and his leadership. He's a gym rat and works as hard as anyone in the NBA (except may Quickly). Regardless of how good RJ ends up being if you turn over team leadership to him you are gonna have a very hard working crew that plays D. Always thought Thibs/RJ was a perfect match and still do.

I am in the same position as you. My take on Randle is that he has become inefficient on offense but is still a plus defender, rebounder and passer from the PF position. I think if he accept a role that accentuated those strengths (while keeping his head straight) he is capable of being that player on a championship team. I really think Randle needs to make Draymond Green his role model. Randle probably thinks he is better than Green and that's part of the problem.

The question for Barrett is what is his next step. He took the leadership role. His efficiency needs to get better. I think it will. But the Wiggins/Butler comparisons are reasonable. I think he will improve though. He puts the work in.

Randle can defend but only when he is motivated to do so.... and he takes waaaayyyy too much time off on that end of things. For me, he will NEVER be a plus defender. Never ever, he has already proved that to all of us.

Those moment(s) Randle took "off" clearly stand out in the minds of posters on this forum despite the overwhelming body of work he has to the contrary. Overall, his statistics show he is a good defender. 2022 showed he is not in the right headspace.

He generally has good footwork on defense, doesn't get bodied, keeps his weight down, keeps his position. He doesn't get a lot of blocks and there aren't a lot of post up players from the PF these days, so he is often guarding out to the 3pt line. He seems to rotate well enough. Knicks need a bit more of a defensive leader -- loud mouth to speak up and talk more during plays. I dunno. I only watched about 30 out of 82 games this year, so maybe I missed a lot of nonsense that others are referencing, but I never had too much issue with his defense. His shot selection on the other hand...

Randle has the ability to play defense. He chooses not to all the time. That's effort. Effort is a skill. Randle does not have that full out skill.

It's the one thing you can literally have full control over as a player.

I guess I am giving him a pass on the head issues this past season. New opportunity to do it better. Man works hard. I think the “takes plays off” is overstated. Clear this season he had issues losing his 1st position to RJ. He either snaps out of it or he doesn’t. I think he puts it all together again. Either here or somewhere else.

Allanfan20 wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Panos wrote:

fishmike wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Kemet wrote:RJ Barrett's B.Ball IQ are so low after 3 NBA seasons of being a 40 minute NBA starter having the Green-light to shoot 16 or more shots per game. Barret's ball-handle and passing-skills were so bad his first two seasons in the NBA that the Knicks post season games against the Hawks back-court guards (Trae, Lou, Huerter, and Bogdanovic) all embarrassed RJ Barrett throughout the series on both sides of the court making the Knicks coaching staff see with much clarity that RJ Barrett is a poor SG, the next season Barrett was put at the SF position inwhich Barrett did improve on his inconsistency performance by midseason, and started passing the ball more.
As a Closer, or clutch-player RJ Barrett grades a C- minus.
Second-season Anthony Edwards were right Knicks opponents want RJ Barrett to take the last shot !!!

The first year he wasn't allowed to shoot he way he'd spent the summer practicing because Fizzle told him not to, and Randle and Alfred Payton froze him out of the offense and refused to pass to him. Year two he was used a lot as a catch and shoot corner three guy. This season was the first where he was given the ball so much and that didn't really happen until we got rid of Walker.

Kemet has a really weird thing with hating on RJ and just kinda making up stuff up about how bad he is or what he cant or doesnt do. Its weird. Kid's 21 coming off a 21/6/3 season. Yeah he's gotta get more eff% but he passes most of the eye tests and keeps getting better

I've pretty much got him on virtual ignore.

its so dumb. IDK how good RJ is going to be, but he's 21, putting up good numbers and he plays defense and is dedicated to being good on that side of the ball as well. He's gonna get paid at least once. Then we'll see if he more Andrew Wiggins or more Jimmy Butler.

I know Randle is everyone's emotional whipping boy here and they all want him gone. I am not really in that boat, but the thing that has me leaning that way is RJ and his leadership. He's a gym rat and works as hard as anyone in the NBA (except may Quickly). Regardless of how good RJ ends up being if you turn over team leadership to him you are gonna have a very hard working crew that plays D. Always thought Thibs/RJ was a perfect match and still do.

I am in the same position as you. My take on Randle is that he has become inefficient on offense but is still a plus defender, rebounder and passer from the PF position. I think if he accept a role that accentuated those strengths (while keeping his head straight) he is capable of being that player on a championship team. I really think Randle needs to make Draymond Green his role model. Randle probably thinks he is better than Green and that's part of the problem.

The question for Barrett is what is his next step. He took the leadership role. His efficiency needs to get better. I think it will. But the Wiggins/Butler comparisons are reasonable. I think he will improve though. He puts the work in.

Randle can defend but only when he is motivated to do so.... and he takes waaaayyyy too much time off on that end of things. For me, he will NEVER be a plus defender. Never ever, he has already proved that to all of us.

Those moment(s) Randle took "off" clearly stand out in the minds of posters on this forum despite the overwhelming body of work he has to the contrary. Overall, his statistics show he is a good defender. 2022 showed he is not in the right headspace.

He generally has good footwork on defense, doesn't get bodied, keeps his weight down, keeps his position. He doesn't get a lot of blocks and there aren't a lot of post up players from the PF these days, so he is often guarding out to the 3pt line. He seems to rotate well enough. Knicks need a bit more of a defensive leader -- loud mouth to speak up and talk more during plays. I dunno. I only watched about 30 out of 82 games this year, so maybe I missed a lot of nonsense that others are referencing, but I never had too much issue with his defense. His shot selection on the other hand...

Randle has the ability to play defense. He chooses not to all the time. That's effort. Effort is a skill. Randle does not have that full out skill.

It's the one thing you can literally have full control over as a player.

I guess I am giving him a pass on the head issues this past season. New opportunity to do it better. Man works hard. I think the “takes plays off” is overstated. Clear this season he had issues losing his 1st position to RJ. He either snaps out of it or he doesn’t. I think he puts it all together again. Either here or somewhere else.

Listen. When you are going through personal problems or if you are depressed or anything of that nature, that’s one thing. I feel for him in that regard. When you are a flat out bad teammate (as proven many times) then that’s another. When you can’t play in a way that benefits the team, that’s also a separate thing. This isn’t a “system” or “bad players around him” thing. This is a “Randle thing.” I would trade immediately if I could and I would have traded him for Westbrook at the deadline.

BigDaddyG wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Panos wrote:

fishmike wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Kemet wrote:RJ Barrett's B.Ball IQ are so low after 3 NBA seasons of being a 40 minute NBA starter having the Green-light to shoot 16 or more shots per game. Barret's ball-handle and passing-skills were so bad his first two seasons in the NBA that the Knicks post season games against the Hawks back-court guards (Trae, Lou, Huerter, and Bogdanovic) all embarrassed RJ Barrett throughout the series on both sides of the court making the Knicks coaching staff see with much clarity that RJ Barrett is a poor SG, the next season Barrett was put at the SF position inwhich Barrett did improve on his inconsistency performance by midseason, and started passing the ball more.
As a Closer, or clutch-player RJ Barrett grades a C- minus.
Second-season Anthony Edwards were right Knicks opponents want RJ Barrett to take the last shot !!!

The first year he wasn't allowed to shoot he way he'd spent the summer practicing because Fizzle told him not to, and Randle and Alfred Payton froze him out of the offense and refused to pass to him. Year two he was used a lot as a catch and shoot corner three guy. This season was the first where he was given the ball so much and that didn't really happen until we got rid of Walker.

Kemet has a really weird thing with hating on RJ and just kinda making up stuff up about how bad he is or what he cant or doesnt do. Its weird. Kid's 21 coming off a 21/6/3 season. Yeah he's gotta get more eff% but he passes most of the eye tests and keeps getting better

I've pretty much got him on virtual ignore.

its so dumb. IDK how good RJ is going to be, but he's 21, putting up good numbers and he plays defense and is dedicated to being good on that side of the ball as well. He's gonna get paid at least once. Then we'll see if he more Andrew Wiggins or more Jimmy Butler.

I know Randle is everyone's emotional whipping boy here and they all want him gone. I am not really in that boat, but the thing that has me leaning that way is RJ and his leadership. He's a gym rat and works as hard as anyone in the NBA (except may Quickly). Regardless of how good RJ ends up being if you turn over team leadership to him you are gonna have a very hard working crew that plays D. Always thought Thibs/RJ was a perfect match and still do.

I am in the same position as you. My take on Randle is that he has become inefficient on offense but is still a plus defender, rebounder and passer from the PF position. I think if he accept a role that accentuated those strengths (while keeping his head straight) he is capable of being that player on a championship team. I really think Randle needs to make Draymond Green his role model. Randle probably thinks he is better than Green and that's part of the problem.

The question for Barrett is what is his next step. He took the leadership role. His efficiency needs to get better. I think it will. But the Wiggins/Butler comparisons are reasonable. I think he will improve though. He puts the work in.

Randle can defend but only when he is motivated to do so.... and he takes waaaayyyy too much time off on that end of things. For me, he will NEVER be a plus defender. Never ever, he has already proved that to all of us.

Those moment(s) Randle took "off" clearly stand out in the minds of posters on this forum despite the overwhelming body of work he has to the contrary. Overall, his statistics show he is a good defender. 2022 showed he is not in the right headspace.

He generally has good footwork on defense, doesn't get bodied, keeps his weight down, keeps his position. He doesn't get a lot of blocks and there aren't a lot of post up players from the PF these days, so he is often guarding out to the 3pt line. He seems to rotate well enough. Knicks need a bit more of a defensive leader -- loud mouth to speak up and talk more during plays. I dunno. I only watched about 30 out of 82 games this year, so maybe I missed a lot of nonsense that others are referencing, but I never had too much issue with his defense. His shot selection on the other hand...

Randle has the ability to play defense. He chooses not to all the time. That's effort. Effort is a skill. Randle does not have that full out skill.

It's the one thing you can literally have full control over as a player.

I guess I am giving him a pass on the head issues this past season. New opportunity to do it better. Man works hard. I think the “takes plays off” is overstated. Clear this season he had issues losing his 1st position to RJ. He either snaps out of it or he doesn’t. I think he puts it all together again. Either here or somewhere else.

Listen. When you are going through personal problems or if you are depressed or anything of that nature, that’s one thing. I feel for him in that regard. When you are a flat out bad teammate (as proven many times) then that’s another. When you can’t play in a way that benefits the team, that’s also a separate thing. This isn’t a “system” or “bad players around him” thing. This is a “Randle thing.” I would trade immediately if I could and I would have traded him for Westbrook at the deadline.

where have you heard the bold narrative aside from Marc Berman and Knick fans quoting him? When he's gone and we hear the stories OK.

We've seen numerous examples of him tuning out coaches and teammates, pouting, not picking up teammates when they're on the ground, showing bad body language when he doesn't get the ball etc. They may like him, but I can't imagine him being fun to play with.

There's a real agenda to label and drive home the bad teammate and toxic thing with Randle. He's been here 3 years, we only saw it last year and he still managed 20/10/5 and 72 games. I have no attachment to him. Bledsoe and Portland's pick would be a no brainer for me (and a step back for the Knicks in talent/production).

Truth is nobody really knows what his issue was this year. Im looking forward to finding out. Maybe the best thing for Randle is to take a secondary role behind RJ and he thrives there. He's just starting a 4 year deal. A happy productive Julius would be ideal. I have no idea if that is possible. I do hope our FO has the right read.

Allanfan20 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Panos wrote:

fishmike wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Kemet wrote:RJ Barrett's B.Ball IQ are so low after 3 NBA seasons of being a 40 minute NBA starter having the Green-light to shoot 16 or more shots per game. Barret's ball-handle and passing-skills were so bad his first two seasons in the NBA that the Knicks post season games against the Hawks back-court guards (Trae, Lou, Huerter, and Bogdanovic) all embarrassed RJ Barrett throughout the series on both sides of the court making the Knicks coaching staff see with much clarity that RJ Barrett is a poor SG, the next season Barrett was put at the SF position inwhich Barrett did improve on his inconsistency performance by midseason, and started passing the ball more.
As a Closer, or clutch-player RJ Barrett grades a C- minus.
Second-season Anthony Edwards were right Knicks opponents want RJ Barrett to take the last shot !!!

The first year he wasn't allowed to shoot he way he'd spent the summer practicing because Fizzle told him not to, and Randle and Alfred Payton froze him out of the offense and refused to pass to him. Year two he was used a lot as a catch and shoot corner three guy. This season was the first where he was given the ball so much and that didn't really happen until we got rid of Walker.

Kemet has a really weird thing with hating on RJ and just kinda making up stuff up about how bad he is or what he cant or doesnt do. Its weird. Kid's 21 coming off a 21/6/3 season. Yeah he's gotta get more eff% but he passes most of the eye tests and keeps getting better

I've pretty much got him on virtual ignore.

its so dumb. IDK how good RJ is going to be, but he's 21, putting up good numbers and he plays defense and is dedicated to being good on that side of the ball as well. He's gonna get paid at least once. Then we'll see if he more Andrew Wiggins or more Jimmy Butler.

I know Randle is everyone's emotional whipping boy here and they all want him gone. I am not really in that boat, but the thing that has me leaning that way is RJ and his leadership. He's a gym rat and works as hard as anyone in the NBA (except may Quickly). Regardless of how good RJ ends up being if you turn over team leadership to him you are gonna have a very hard working crew that plays D. Always thought Thibs/RJ was a perfect match and still do.

I am in the same position as you. My take on Randle is that he has become inefficient on offense but is still a plus defender, rebounder and passer from the PF position. I think if he accept a role that accentuated those strengths (while keeping his head straight) he is capable of being that player on a championship team. I really think Randle needs to make Draymond Green his role model. Randle probably thinks he is better than Green and that's part of the problem.

The question for Barrett is what is his next step. He took the leadership role. His efficiency needs to get better. I think it will. But the Wiggins/Butler comparisons are reasonable. I think he will improve though. He puts the work in.

Randle can defend but only when he is motivated to do so.... and he takes waaaayyyy too much time off on that end of things. For me, he will NEVER be a plus defender. Never ever, he has already proved that to all of us.

Those moment(s) Randle took "off" clearly stand out in the minds of posters on this forum despite the overwhelming body of work he has to the contrary. Overall, his statistics show he is a good defender. 2022 showed he is not in the right headspace.

He generally has good footwork on defense, doesn't get bodied, keeps his weight down, keeps his position. He doesn't get a lot of blocks and there aren't a lot of post up players from the PF these days, so he is often guarding out to the 3pt line. He seems to rotate well enough. Knicks need a bit more of a defensive leader -- loud mouth to speak up and talk more during plays. I dunno. I only watched about 30 out of 82 games this year, so maybe I missed a lot of nonsense that others are referencing, but I never had too much issue with his defense. His shot selection on the other hand...

Randle has the ability to play defense. He chooses not to all the time. That's effort. Effort is a skill. Randle does not have that full out skill.

It's the one thing you can literally have full control over as a player.

I guess I am giving him a pass on the head issues this past season. New opportunity to do it better. Man works hard. I think the “takes plays off” is overstated. Clear this season he had issues losing his 1st position to RJ. He either snaps out of it or he doesn’t. I think he puts it all together again. Either here or somewhere else.

Listen. When you are going through personal problems or if you are depressed or anything of that nature, that’s one thing. I feel for him in that regard. When you are a flat out bad teammate (as proven many times) then that’s another. When you can’t play in a way that benefits the team, that’s also a separate thing. This isn’t a “system” or “bad players around him” thing. This is a “Randle thing.” I would trade immediately if I could and I would have traded him for Westbrook at the deadline.

where have you heard the bold narrative aside from Marc Berman and Knick fans quoting him? When he's gone and we hear the stories OK.

Oh you must have taken me for someone that does that.

-videos of him sitting far away from the team during time outs.
-him barking at teammates when be f’s up.
-him looking miserable when the team does well without him.
-him freezing out RJ after he’d have a good run. This is also a coaching problem.
-him becoming disengaged on the court.

Would you like me to state more examples?

Again... Im not making excuses for his drop in play, but all those things you mentioned happen over the course seasons/careers... but that has never been Randle's reputation. Lebron did all those things this year. So did Donovan. So did Luka.... sorry. Not buying the bad teammate/cancer narrative long term until I see or hear more. Just one guy's opinion.

Look at Randle's stats in Feb/March... he was playing much better. Feb he average 25/12/7 and the Knicks were playing a lot better.

Hey... if you done with your done. So it goes. Be prepared for him to be back and there's a lot of good reasons to do that. WE dont really have intel on the bad reasons (yet)

EwingsGlass wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

martin wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Panos wrote:

fishmike wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Kemet wrote:RJ Barrett's B.Ball IQ are so low after 3 NBA seasons of being a 40 minute NBA starter having the Green-light to shoot 16 or more shots per game. Barret's ball-handle and passing-skills were so bad his first two seasons in the NBA that the Knicks post season games against the Hawks back-court guards (Trae, Lou, Huerter, and Bogdanovic) all embarrassed RJ Barrett throughout the series on both sides of the court making the Knicks coaching staff see with much clarity that RJ Barrett is a poor SG, the next season Barrett was put at the SF position inwhich Barrett did improve on his inconsistency performance by midseason, and started passing the ball more.
As a Closer, or clutch-player RJ Barrett grades a C- minus.
Second-season Anthony Edwards were right Knicks opponents want RJ Barrett to take the last shot !!!

The first year he wasn't allowed to shoot he way he'd spent the summer practicing because Fizzle told him not to, and Randle and Alfred Payton froze him out of the offense and refused to pass to him. Year two he was used a lot as a catch and shoot corner three guy. This season was the first where he was given the ball so much and that didn't really happen until we got rid of Walker.

Kemet has a really weird thing with hating on RJ and just kinda making up stuff up about how bad he is or what he cant or doesnt do. Its weird. Kid's 21 coming off a 21/6/3 season. Yeah he's gotta get more eff% but he passes most of the eye tests and keeps getting better

I've pretty much got him on virtual ignore.

its so dumb. IDK how good RJ is going to be, but he's 21, putting up good numbers and he plays defense and is dedicated to being good on that side of the ball as well. He's gonna get paid at least once. Then we'll see if he more Andrew Wiggins or more Jimmy Butler.

I know Randle is everyone's emotional whipping boy here and they all want him gone. I am not really in that boat, but the thing that has me leaning that way is RJ and his leadership. He's a gym rat and works as hard as anyone in the NBA (except may Quickly). Regardless of how good RJ ends up being if you turn over team leadership to him you are gonna have a very hard working crew that plays D. Always thought Thibs/RJ was a perfect match and still do.

I am in the same position as you. My take on Randle is that he has become inefficient on offense but is still a plus defender, rebounder and passer from the PF position. I think if he accept a role that accentuated those strengths (while keeping his head straight) he is capable of being that player on a championship team. I really think Randle needs to make Draymond Green his role model. Randle probably thinks he is better than Green and that's part of the problem.

The question for Barrett is what is his next step. He took the leadership role. His efficiency needs to get better. I think it will. But the Wiggins/Butler comparisons are reasonable. I think he will improve though. He puts the work in.

Randle can defend but only when he is motivated to do so.... and he takes waaaayyyy too much time off on that end of things. For me, he will NEVER be a plus defender. Never ever, he has already proved that to all of us.

Those moment(s) Randle took "off" clearly stand out in the minds of posters on this forum despite the overwhelming body of work he has to the contrary. Overall, his statistics show he is a good defender. 2022 showed he is not in the right headspace.

He generally has good footwork on defense, doesn't get bodied, keeps his weight down, keeps his position. He doesn't get a lot of blocks and there aren't a lot of post up players from the PF these days, so he is often guarding out to the 3pt line. He seems to rotate well enough. Knicks need a bit more of a defensive leader -- loud mouth to speak up and talk more during plays. I dunno. I only watched about 30 out of 82 games this year, so maybe I missed a lot of nonsense that others are referencing, but I never had too much issue with his defense. His shot selection on the other hand...

Randle has the ability to play defense. He chooses not to all the time. That's effort. Effort is a skill. Randle does not have that full out skill.

It's the one thing you can literally have full control over as a player.

I guess I am giving him a pass on the head issues this past season. New opportunity to do it better. Man works hard. I think the “takes plays off” is overstated. Clear this season he had issues losing his 1st position to RJ. He either snaps out of it or he doesn’t. I think he puts it all together again. Either here or somewhere else.

Listen. When you are going through personal problems or if you are depressed or anything of that nature, that’s one thing. I feel for him in that regard. When you are a flat out bad teammate (as proven many times) then that’s another. When you can’t play in a way that benefits the team, that’s also a separate thing. This isn’t a “system” or “bad players around him” thing. This is a “Randle thing.” I would trade immediately if I could and I would have traded him for Westbrook at the deadline.

where have you heard the bold narrative aside from Marc Berman and Knick fans quoting him? When he's gone and we hear the stories OK.

Oh you must have taken me for someone that does that.

-videos of him sitting far away from the team during time outs.
-him barking at teammates when be f’s up.
-him looking miserable when the team does well without him.
-him freezing out RJ after he’d have a good run. This is also a coaching problem.
-him becoming disengaged on the court.

Would you like me to state more examples?

yeah... honestly. Nobody is getting frozen. Its a team with no PG. All thee other stuff happens. Its got to happen a lot more before someone is a "bad teammate" and when you have guys that are bad teammates you see teams that dont play hard and give up on seasons and that's the opposite of what we saw down the stretch.

Again... Im not making excuses for his drop in play, but all those things you mentioned happen over the course seasons/careers... but that has never been Randle's reputation. Lebron did all those things this year. So did Donovan. So did Luka.... sorry. Not buying the bad teammate/cancer narrative long term until I see or hear more. Just one guy's opinion.

Look at Randle's stats in Feb/March... he was playing much better. Feb he average 25/12/7 and the Knicks were playing a lot better.

Hey... if you done with your done. So it goes. Be prepared for him to be back and there's a lot of good reasons to do that. WE dont really have intel on the bad reasons (yet)

There definitely is a drop in ball movement when Randle is on the court. I don’t think you can argue that.