The New York Knicks have officially ruled Julius Randle out for the remainder of the season, and it is fair to wonder if they have been misleading the public about the situation for more than a month.
Randle has not played since he suffered a dislocated right shoulder on Jan. 27. The Knicks announced on Thursday that Randle will undergo season-ending surgery. Randle then shared an interesting piece of information with Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
During TNT’s broadcast of the Knicks’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night, Haynes revealed he was told by Randle that the former first-round pick suffered a setback five weeks ago during a full-contact session. Haynes read the text message that Randle sent him.
Randle told Haynes that he opted against surgery when he first suffered the injury because he thought he could rehab and return this season. Then, after reinjuring the shoulder, multiple specialists told Randle he needed surgery and could risk permanent damage if he tried to play again without having a procedure.
From the sound of it, Randle and the Knicks knew five weeks ago that Randle was going to need season-ending surgery. Perhaps Randle was hoping some third or fourth doctor would have a different opinion, which is why the team did not rule him out sooner.
As Fred Katz of The Athletic noted, the information surrounding OG Anunoby’s elbow injury has seemed a bit suspect as well. The Knicks initially said Anunoby was dealing with “elbow inflammation” in January.
Anunoby then underwent surgery, returned and suffered a setback that the team described as normal “bumps and bruises” from recovery. Anunoby has now sat out for nine straight games.
The Knicks improved to 45-31 with their win over Sacramento on Thursday night. It appears they are going to avoid the play-in tournament, but they are facing an uphill battle without Randle in the playoffs.
If Anunoby is ruled out for the season or has to play through discomfort, it will be even tougher for New York to make a deep playoff run.
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