Latest Randle outburst caught on video as angry Knick, staffer go at it
Julius Randle’s irritation was again caught on camera. This time, it was directed at a member of his team.
Footage emerged Monday of a heated exchange with Knicks video coordinator Scott King, seemingly precipitated by Randle, who slapped King’s laptop and was separated by assistant coaches.
The incident occurred during their overtime loss to the Lakers on Saturday. Randle was also assessed a technical foul from the bench for arguing with the referees in the third quarter, although it’s unclear when the confrontation with King occurred during the game.
In the video, which was while the team was huddled up on the sideline, King is attempting to show Randle a play on his laptop. Randle isn’t interested and lightly slaps the computer. King then says something to the power forward, which prompts Randle to turn around angrily. Randle gets in King’s face and is pushed back by assistant coaches Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne.
Randle then walks to the other side of the team huddle and is followed by security.
On the surface, the dust-up is minor and easily dismissed. Nothing turned physical. But it’s also in the bigger picture of Randle’s deteriorating game and emotions, with the backdrop of Thursday’s trade deadline looming.
Tom Thibodeau predictably downplayed the exchange, calling it “the heat of the moment” and “normal stuff.” He added the situation was handled “immediately.”
“When you have competitive people, you’re gonna have stuff like that,” Thibodeau told reporters ahead of Monday’s game against the Jazz. “That’s normal. Every team has it. It’s competitive people, heat of the moment. They’re good. They’ve got a great relationship. Everyone is trying to win. So, it’s all part of it.”
Beyond his statistical fall, Randle this season has warred with fans, boycotted the media and received nine technical fouls, the most on the Knicks and seventh in the NBA. He was ejected from Wednesday’s game against the Grizzlies, which preceded Saturday’s incident.
With a 24-29 record and free-falling, the Knicks are open for business at the trade deadline. Still, moving Randle will be difficult and an admission of a massive failure after extending his contract in the summer into 2026. One potential target is CJ McCollum, who is now the hot name with NBA veteran scribe Marc Stein calling the Knicks “a legitimate suitor.”
As far back as last year, the Knicks were monitoring McCollum’s situation and waiting for the Blazers to make him available, as the Daily News reported.
King, 30, a former player at Stony Brook and Fairfield, joined the Knicks as an assistant video coordinator in 2020. He previously worked with the Pistons and Fort Wayne Ants of the G-League.
MCBRIDE GETS A SHOT
Kemba Walker sat out the first leg of a back to back Monday night in Utah, saving up his knees for the Knicks’ high-altitude matchup in Denver tonight. Thibodeau was still considering who to start at point guard — a frequent issue with the health issues of Walker and Derrick Rose — but he did praise the development strategy for one of the team’s young point guards.
Miles McBride, a second-round pick out of West Virginia last summer, has occasionally popped over to the Westchester Knicks in recent weeks, playing three games for the G-League affiliate after seeing minimal minutes in the NBA. “Sometimes people don’t realize how good the players in that league are,” Thibodeau said Monday. “Obviously, college basketball has really served as a minor league for a long time, and I think that’s shifted now, I think it’s more the G-League. The G-League is better than college basketball now — a lot better...So I think that’s been very helpful for him and for us.”
McBride has averaged over 30 points and 40 minutes in three Westchester appearances.
Thibodeau has long had a reputation of not giving NBA minutes to young players for solely the sake of their development, so leaning more heavily on the G-League could be a winning strategy for an organization that has been legendarily awful at developing its own draft picks. — with Dennis Young
DURANT REPLACED
Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray were named to the NBA All-Star Game on Monday as injury replacements for Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
The league also announced that Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who was selected as a reserve, will replace Durant as a starter.
The 71st NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 20 in Cleveland.
This is the first All-Star selection for Ball, last year’s Rookie of the Year.
The 20-year-old Ball becomes the fourth-youngest All-Star in NBA history. He is averaging 19.6 points, 7.5 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 1.47 steals in 47 games for Charlotte.
Murray is also a first-time AllStar. The 25-year-old is averaging career highs of 19.6 points, 9.2 assists, 8.4 rebounds and an NBA-leading 2.1 steals in 47 games. His 10 triple-doubles are the second most in the league and a single-season record for the Spurs.
Durant, a 12-time All-Star, will not play because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, which has sidelined him for the last 11 games. Green has a lower back injury that has kept him out of action the last 14 games. Green is a four-time All-Star selection.
Durant and LeBron James are the team captains for the game and will select their rosters on Thursday.