Knicks Insider Shoots Down Tobias Harris, Julius Randle Swap Idea

Throughout the 2021-2022 NBA season, the New York Knicks’ struggles frustrated one of their most notable stars, Julius Randle.

While Randle helped lead his team to its first playoff appearance since 2013 just two seasons ago, the 2021 Most Improved Player of the Year award winner couldn’t help New York capitalize on its success in making the playoffs in 2021.

After finishing 11th in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks failed to make the playoffs in 2022. Going into the 2022-2023 season, the Knicks could use some key changes.

In a recent Q&A piece penned by The Athletic’s New York Knicks insider Fred Katz, the topic of a possible power forward swap came up.

One fan asked why wouldn’t the Knicks attempt to move Julius Randle in a trade for Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris. Katz then explained that Randle doesn’t make any more sense for the Sixers than Harris does from a fit standpoint.

Randle Leaves a Question Mark

“I don’t believe Randle is anywhere close to a better fit with Embiid than Harris is, and I’d bet my bank account that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey agrees with me. Defenders would help off Randle to double-team Embiid all the time.”

Although Randle is far better with the Knicks than he was with the Los Angeles Lakers or the New Orleans Pelicans, his career year in 2020-2021 wasn’t exactly close to being duplicated last season.

In 72 games, Randle averaged 20 points as the Knicks’ lead scorer. Just one season after knocking down 41 percent of his threes, Randle’s average from beyond the arc dropped to 30 percent, below his career average.

To compare, Harris averaged 17 points while hitting 37 percent of his threes, which is right around his career average after 11 seasons in the league.

Randle can be a three-level scorer, but he hasn’t earned that respect from defenders yet. On the other hand, Harris has proven that shooting is his strength at this point in his career, which is precisely the type of skill set Joel Embiid needs around him.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.