LAS VEGAS — Julius Randle sees the similarity between joining these rebuilding Nets and when he first helped guide the Knicks from the lottery to the playoffs.
But this time he says he’s a better leader.
And a better player.
And better equipped to help this young team make that climb.
“There’s definitely similarities for sure,” said Randle, 31. “Each [situation] is different. It has its own different challenges. I’m definitely ready to step up to this one. This will be exciting. But it’s definitely similar.
“And for me, I have a lot more experience now than I did when I was that player. So I feel like from a leadership standpoint, I can help a lot more, just being through it and having that experience.”
The four-team trade that brought Randle — along with rookie Joshua Jefferson — became official on Friday.
The four-time All-Star was dealt from a contending Minnesota squad to a Brooklyn bunch coming off two straight tanking seasons.
Without control of their own pick, the Nets don’t intend for a third.
That’s why they added a floor-raiser like Randle, who has a $35.8 million player option for next season.
“They’re really excited to have me here. Jordi [Fernandez] is really excited. He feels like going into every game, we’ve got a chance to win every single game,” Randle said. “To have that confidence from your coach is amazing. … I get to come in and be a leader, show guys how to be a pro.
“We’re coming in trying to win. It’s as simple as that. However we can help give the younger guys experience and confidence and help them fast-track or whatever it is to contribute to winning basketball, that’s really all that matters. All I care about, at the end of the day, is winning, and I know that’s what those guys care about. If I can help give them that experience, great.”
Randle had less experience when he first came to New York in 2019-20, joining a Knicks team that was coming off a sorry 17-65 season.
Two years later they were 41-31 and fourth in the East.
The bruising forward became one of the league’s more reliable regular season scorers, before being the centerpiece in a trade that brought Karl-Anthony Towns.
Now, after Brooklyn suffered through consecutive lottery seasons to get rookie Mikel Brown Jr. and second-year guard Egor Dëmin, Randle can help them level up.
Whether he’s a Net long-term or is flipped again, he will help them.
“He’s experienced being around many different teams and playing in the different levels of the different stages of the season and playoffs,” Dëmin said. “He brings an amazing knowledge. And he seems a great person.”
Randle averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 boards and five assists last season for Minnesota.
For a Nets team focusing indexing on playmakers and ball movement, Randle’s passing should accentuate Brown and Demin’s and play into that.
“I really enjoy getting guys going: pushing the pace, kick-aheads, opening the floor, getting to the paint, spraying the basketball,” Randle said. “It’s about us building our chemistry, knowing where guys like the ball, what spots they want the ball in, guys understanding me and what I’m looking for. It’s going to be fun.”
Randle’s exit from Minnesota was anything but, a three-point 1-of-8 nightmare in their playoff ouster after he had struggled down the stretch.
Many opined that he’d been distracted after his name surfaced in trade rumors for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But when asked Friday, Randle took the high road.
“It feels great to be here. It’s a great opportunity,” Randle said. “It’s a city I’m already really familiar with; it’s a situation that I’m familiar with. Then, there’s a lot of talent.
“As far as the trade stuff, man, I’m 13 years in, bro. I played in New York already; so you hear that stuff all the time. I’m used to that. It just is what it is. You ride the wave of it. At the end of the day, I’m playing basketball and I’m doing what I love for a living. So, it’s all I ask for.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
