What Julius Randle’s past as a small-ball center says about what he could do for the Knicks

Julius Randle did this before. He played center in the NBA. He played it regularly, in fact, as a young member of the Lakers.

Now with Randle facing the possibility of returning to center — at least in spurts, as suggested recently by Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau — it’s worth exploring how it worked in Los Angeles and understanding its potential.

“There’s the good and the bad with that,” Jud Buechler, the former Lakers and Knicks assistant, told Sports+. “I think the good really outweighs some of the negative stuff with that.”

Buechler was on the Lakers staff when Randle logged 49% of his overall minutes at center, according to an estimate from Basketball Reference. Head coach Luke Walton had Brook Lopez and Andrew Bogut, but opted often for small-ball lineups with Randle at center in the frontcourt alongside Kyle Kuzma.