Could Julius Randle Be Knicks Sixth Man?

The New York Knicks will have opportunities throughout the season to play around with their starting lineup in order to get their best possible configuration.

One possibility that the Knicks have yet to explore is the idea of Julius Randle coming off the bench, something Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey suggested.

“Technically, the best move for Julius Randle would probably just be going from the New York Knicks’ starting five to the bench,” Bailey writes. “Obviously, he’s a starting-level talent, but New York stumbled into something magical with Jalen Brunson as a heliocentric playmaker surrounded by shooting and defensive versatility. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges probably aren’t as good as Randle in a vacuum, but they fit that mold a little better. And as the primary ball-handler and scorer against reserves, Randle could absolutely feast.”

Randle, who turns 30 in November, has started all 330 games he’s appeared in for the Knicks since 2019, so moving him to the bench would be a massive shakeup. He also has made three All-Star teams and averaged 24 points per game last year, so a move like this would be somewhat unorthodox.

However, it isn’t something we can completely rule out going into the season.

When Randle went down with an injury last year, Josh Hart stepped in and unlocked a huge heap of potential for the Knicks. Perhaps having Hart in the starting lineup alongside Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson is a quintet that coach Tom Thibodeau would be willing to try out. Donte DiVincenzo could also start in Randle’s spot to form a smaller lineup.

Randle is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, so he likely won’t be 100 percent right when the season starts.

It’s possible that the lineup above will see some action together, but it likely won’t be the first five that Thibodeau trots onto the court at any point during the season. While the Knicks have seven or eight players capable of starting, Randle isn’t the one to bench out of that group. He’s simply too valuable to not have in the starting lineup.

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