It seems that New York Knicks center/power forward Julius Randle is a bit like Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving.
Randle's lack of ball distribution has reportedly frustrated R.J. Barrett and his Knicks teammates, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
“A lot of players felt like that with the exception of Elfrid Payton,’’ an NBA source told The Post.
Randle signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the Knicks, but the pressure of being New York's No. 1 guy was too much for him to handle.
“You can’t argue with his productivity,’’ an Eastern Conference personnel man told The Post. “But he was in the wrong role. He absolutely should not be your No. 1 or even No. 2 option, maybe not even No. 3 on a serious contender. He doesn’t have a good enough feel, [and is] much too ball-dominant. I don’t trust his decisions with the ball. As sixth man, he would fit perfectly because I don’t think he gives you much defensively either. That’s more in line with a sixth-man role."
Randle is just 25 years old, but he's played for a losing team in all of his six NBA seasons. Is he part of the real problem in New York? Or do they need to surround him with the right players to make things work?
Before the NBA hit pause on the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Randle was averaging 19.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field and 27.7% from three-point range.
While his stats aren't abysmal, the former first-round pick needs to be better if the Knicks ever want to get out of the hole they have dug for themselves.
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Happy 66th birthday to NBA Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson! Johnson is a 12-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA selection, three-time NBA and NBA Finals MVP, four-time assist champion, and five time NBA champion. He spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was also part of the famous 1992 Olympic Dream Team that dominated the Summer Games in Barcelona. Since his retirement Johnson has remained in the sporting world. He’s spent time in the front office of the Lakers as well as purchasing stakes in MLB’s Los Angles Dodgers and the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Which brings us to today’s quiz. There have been 34 players in NBA history to rack up 15 assists in at least 25 career games. How many of those players can you name in five minutes? Good luck! Did you like this quiz? Are there any quizzes you’d like to see us make in the future? Let us know your thoughts at quizzes@yardbarker.com, and make sure to subscribe to our Quiz of the Day Newsletter for daily quizzes sent right to your email!
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Joint practices have revealed some problems for the Miami Dolphins with a few weeks to go before the regular season. Tua Tagovailoa started against the Chicago Bears in Sunday's preseason game, wanting to show improvement after having a bad showing during the Dolphins' joint practice in Chicago on Friday. Tagovailoa did play better, going 5-of-6 passing for 27 yards and led the Dolphins to the Chicago 1-yard line before the offense was stopped on downs. A few days later, Tagovailoa and the offense had another poor performance at their joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Per Colton Pouncy of The Athletic, Miami couldn't score in the red zone against a motivated Lions defense during Wednesday's practice. "Dolphins offense just ran 16 or so plays in the red zone vs. the Lions and didn’t score until the final play (between the second units)," Pouncy posted on X. "Miami’s first-team offense didn’t score in the 7-8 plays vs. Detroit’s first-team defense. It was ugly. Lions’ D is having a day." Pouncy's observation of the Lions manhandling the Dolphins was universal among beat reporters covering the Lions and Dolphins, with The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner calling it the most "lopsided" practice he'd witnessed covering the NFL. Last week, Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun Sentinel said Miami folded when the Bears defense began to whip on the offense. The accusations of the Dolphins being a soft team are going to continue until they decide to fight back in joint practices or against opponents in the regular season. When healthy, the Lions have a fierce defense. So Detroit having the edge isn't a surprise, though not being able to score during 16 plays in the red zone is a concern. Miami doesn't appear to have found an identity, and that could spell doom for the season if it doesn't get it figured out before Week 1.
The Dallas Cowboys need to figure out what to do with Micah Parsons because whatever they're doing right now isn't working. Team owner Jerry Jones said he was willing to "stir the pot" when asked about Parsons' contract stalemate and trade request. Given Parsons' character, that may have rubbed him the wrong way. However, that's not the only contract situation they need to address. While everybody's focused on the Penn State product, CB DaRon Bland is also waiting for an extension of his own. More importantly, he recently said that he hoped it would get done before the Cowboys open the season on Sept. 4. "I do, but I'm not here to talk about it really too much," Bland told the team's website. "But yea, hopefully." Jerry and Stephen Jones aren't that fond of players setting deadlines for contract negotiations, and they've shown that they're willing to wait until the very last second to get a deal done, relationships be damned. Bland has been an instrumental piece of the Cowboys secondary, especially with fellow CB Trevon Diggs struggling with injuries. When asked about his goal for next season, he opened up about his desire to dominate opposite Diggs. "Always hopeful for both of us to be healthy first of all, and for both of us to show out on the field together. Can't wait until it happens," Bland said. Still, given the way the Cowboys have treated their stars and have dealt with contract situations, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see Bland also go to desperate measures to get what he's earned.
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