Getty Image / Mitchell Leff
Even when things are seemingly going well for the New York Knicks, there’s seemingly always something bad that’s going to happen around the corner. That’s what happened on Thursday.
The New York Knicks revealed that injured All-Star forward Julius Randle will miss the remainder of the season with the dislocated shoulder he suffered at the end of January.
Julius Randle will not return this season, SNY sources confirm. Randle wanted to play badly but he just couldn;t get the dislocated shoulder stable, SNY sources say. Randle was told by specialists that he woudn't be able to get shoulder in a place where he could play. ESPN 1st
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 4, 2024
This is, without a doubt, a devastating blow to the New York Knicks. This was a team that was nearly unbeatable when Randle, Jalen Brunson, and newly acquired OG Anunoby played together. They went 13-1 in January and looked like a bona fide title contender.
But, they’re going to be without their second-leading scorer and rebounder for the remainder of the season. It will be hard to replace his ability to create his own bucket in the playoffs, when defenses tighten up.
On the year, Randle was averaging 24.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. They just can’t replace that.
It’s even worse for Knicks fans considering the narrative had been that Julius Randle would return at some point this year. The franchise was leaking out that they were simply being cautious with Julius Randle and didn’t want him to reinjure that shoulder. They also said that he had not yet taken part in contact activities.
But, that appears not to be the case. Julius Randle claimed he reinjured that shoulder in contact activities five weeks ago.
Julius Randle to Chris Haynes: "I want everyone to know I did everything in my power to get back…That's why I didn't opt for surgery when it happened…What caused me to finally go thru w/ surgery was ~5 weeks ago, I went thru a full-contact session & re-injured my shoulder…" pic.twitter.com/tAgbLkwUHB
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 4, 2024
So, why did Knicks management, led by general manager Leon Rose, lie to the fans? Make no mistake, they have the team more consistently competitive than they have been in decades. But, they’re famously secretive about injuries and now they’ve lost some trust with the fans.
It was not all bad for the Knicks on Thursday. They had a huge 120-109 home win against the Kings in a game they trailed in by 20 points. That keeps them in the hunt for a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference. They currently sit tied for fourth at 45-31 with the Orlando Magic, and a half-game back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for third spot. They own the tiebreaker with Cleveland, and do not own it against the Magic.