{"id":361544,"date":"2026-10-01T04:56:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T04:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/361544\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T04:56:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T04:56:54","slug":"julius-randle-lays-out-his-nets-mission-after-knicks-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/361544\/","title":{"rendered":"Julius Randle lays out his Nets mission after Knicks championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julius Randle spent a half-decade lifting the Knicks from cellar-dwellers to contenders, only to get traded away<\/a> before they finally earned a championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s back in the city, across town in Brooklyn, happy to have seen his old teammates become winners while trying to help his new ones on the Nets do the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy [for the Knicks], man,\u201d said Randle, one of the first Nets to utter that phrase. \u201cI kept in touch with guys. I\u2019ve had a lot of great moments here in the city. I spent five years here, my family has grown here; so I was extremely excited, happy for those guys. A lot went into that; it\u2019s not just myself, years before me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, just happy for those guys. I was just last month on a trip with OG [Anunoby] in Brazil, just kicking it, talking with each other. So it was a great thing, not just for them, for the organization, [but] for the city that has craved that \u2014 we know how New York is \u2014 so has craved that winning formula, winning environment. And we plan to do the same thing here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a soon-to-be 32-year-old \u2014 one who\u2019ll be linked in trade rumors, since he can opt into unrestricted free agency next summer \u2014 Randle might not be around long enough for that. But almost anything is possible. The Knicks proved that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nets\u2019 Julius Randle grabs a pass during practice at the HSS Training Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n

Randle arrived in the Garden in 2019, joining a Knicks team that was a league-worst 17-65 and had gone six seasons without the playoffs. Two years later, Randle made his first All-Star game, and he had them back in the postseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But two years ago this month, Randle was traded to Minnesota<\/a> in a three-team deal that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to the Garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Randle wasn\u2019t around to see the Knicks close the deal this June. And the end of his tenure with the Timberwolves was bittersweet \u2026 and desultory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After averaging 12.8 points and .342 shooting in Minnesota\u2019s second-round defeat \u2014 finishing with three points on 1-for-8 shooting in Game 6, and blowing off his exit interview \u2014 Randle came under fire and was traded again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anthony Edwards said Monday that he missed Naz Reid, but conspicuously didn\u2019t mention Randle, and said he was pleased with the roster as is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nets\u2019 Julius Randle looks on during practice at the HSS Training Center, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna miss Naz for sure; that\u2019s my brother. But I\u2019m super happy about the changes in the locker room,\u201d Edwards said in what many saw as a slight to Randle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But in need of an on-ball scorer, floor raiser and experience, the Nets are confident Randle is the right sort of veteran to guide their youngsters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything [I\u2019d] heard was not good but great, as a person, family man, worker, ultimate pro, about the right things,\u201d Jordi Fernandez said. \u201cHe\u2019s been in eight playoff rounds, [three]-time All-Star.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to impact what we\u2019re trying to do here. \u2026 He\u2019s coming here to get better, to lead by example. So, very happy before when we were trying to get him \u2014 and now that I\u2019ve got [him], I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFollow all the basketball buzz in Brooklyn\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Nets by Brian Lewis, exclusively on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Randle is happy to be back in New York, never wanting to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s back, older and wiser. When asked if he ever feels his veteran status, Randle joked \u201cYeah, I feel it every single day. \u2026 I\u2019ve reached Unc status for sure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Nets\u2019 Julius Randle speaks to members of the media during Media Day at HSS Training Center, Monday, September 28, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n

Tasked with teaching the league\u2019s youngest squad, teammates have asked him about playing alongside the late Kobe Bryant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Fernandez and GM Sean Marks will rely on Randle to lead, with Fernandez saying he\u2019ll \u201cchallenge\u201d the All-NBA forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to be coached, and there\u2019s different ways he\u2019ll challenge me in parts of the game, whether it\u2019s my rebounding or if it\u2019s running the floor or if it\u2019s being better on defense,\u201d Randle said. \u201cI\u2019m not afraid to be coached, and whatever he needs to do, you should coach your best players the hardest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he needs something from me, he\u2019ll call me. So it\u2019s a great relationship. But communication is key, and trust. So he\u2019s been great at building that with me, and I trust him fully; so it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Julius Randle spent a half-decade lifting the Knicks from cellar-dwellers to contenders, only to get traded away before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,355,99,17661,21,9,24,1104,63,319],"class_list":["post-361544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-nets","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-julius-randle","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-nyc","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}