Does Knicks Captain Announcement Mean Trouble for Julius Randle?

Getting a handle on the New York Knicks’ Randle situation is almost impossible, but the team appeared to drop an interesting nugget on Tuesday, even if it doesn’t work in the long-time Manhattanite’s metropolitan favor.

The Knicks added yet another badge to point guard Jalen Brunson’s uniform, naming him the 36th team captain in franchise history. Brunson needed only two full seasons to earn such an honor, bypassing tenured members on the roster like Julius Randle, who is set to enter his sixth season in Manhattan (second-longest tenured Knick behind Mitchell Robinson).

Tuesday will undoubtedly be remembered as a euphoric stretch on the Knicks’ calendar (especially in terms of sleepy August), but, this being the Knickerbockers, it’s worth acknowledging the most dire lens possible.

Giving Brunson the captaincy more or less labels this group as Brunson’s until further notice … and, if his lengthy, discounted contract extension is any indication, that bulletin won’t be posted for awhile.

That leaves Randle, the Knicks’ undisputed face of the 2020s prior to last season, in a relatively compromising spot with the cloud of No. 30’s extension looming over a path of sunshine: Randle’s entire New York career to date has been defined by proving that he’s capable of overcoming adversity and standing as the No. 1 option of a contending team. Shouldn’t that, his apologists will claim, have counted for something when it came to filling in the long-vacant captain’s spot?

Brunson’s captaincy coup, unintentional as it may have been, puts the team firmly in his grasp, as if it wasn’t before: there’s a reason … well, maybe 11 … why nearly half of the Knicks’ active rotation consists of Villanova University alumni and a reason why management hardly shrugged when Donovan Mitchell re-signed with Cleveland. Such sentiments weren’t prevalent with Randle at the players’ helm, even though he has carried an undeniable role in launching the Knicks back into the NBA’s realm of relevancy.

It’s thus hard to not look at Brunson’s promotion as a slight jab to Randle’s long-term future in Manhattan, but it should be clarified: Randle is more a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time rather than lacking anything in terms of leadership or skills.

For one thing, Randle is firmly ready to serve as one of Brunson’s lieutenants, being one of the first to congratulate him publicly (doing so through his Instagram story). To say that Randle missed out on the captaincy for attitude reasons would be cruel, irresponsible, and a desperate dig at skeletons from the 2021-22 season. Even something as silly as recency bias feels more to blame than anything Randle did, as so much has simply transpired since he last took the floor in an organized game.

All in all, Tuesday’s news, in its simplest terms, gives Randle one more thing to think about as his metropolitan future is debated. Many Knicks fans will no doubt try to use Brunson’s example of a coupon contract against Randle, but Fred Katz perhaps put it best when previewing the path to a payday for The Athletic last week.

“Why should a 29-year-old who has made three All-Star teams and two All-NBA appearances in the past four seasons — an individual as responsible as anyone for carrying the Knicks out of the gutter and into the light — give back so much?” Katz asked. “The Cleveland Cavaliers and Jarrett Allen just reportedly agreed to an extension that will pay the one-time All-Star a shade above $30 million annually. Randle is in a higher class.”

“Brunson agreed to less than a max contract, but he also took the most he could in an extension. From Randle’s perspective, why shouldn’t he receive the same treatment?”

Randle undoubtedly has the ability to keep making his team happy. Time will tell, however, if that group plays at Madison Square Garden or elsewhere.

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