Julius Randle can try to downplay this Knicks reunion, but the truth is more complicated

MINNEAPOLIS — Don’t let his brevity or dismissive answers fool you. It’s personal for Julius Randle against the Knicks on Thursday night.

How could it not be?

Randle, if you remember not too long ago, was the face of the franchise. He uplifted the Knicks from nearly a decade of misery during the pandemic season and then signed a discounted extension because, as he said at the time, “I feel like [the added financial flexibility] can help us win.”

Three years later, Randle was up for another extension and stated his desire to sign long-term. Instead, he felt alienated by the franchise and was shipped to Minnesota — where the temperature will dip to 4 degrees this weekend — and remains without a new contract.