NEW YORK — Julius Randle arrived at his postgame presser in a chill mood, rocking a summer shirt with his chest exposed, and ready to dispel the notion he doesn’t want to be with the Knicks.
“I love the city. My family loves it here. I’m a Knick. That’s what I love. I love being a Knick,” Randle said after Wednesday’s 125-114 loss to the Hornets.
Of course, Randle’s antics on the court this season have often suggested otherwise, with the latest incident being his angry beeline to the locker room while his teammates celebrated Monday’s win. Reports soon followed that Randle was forcing his way off the team, with WFAN host Craig Carton saying the Knicks power forward requested a trade.
Randle denied it.
“That’s not true, bro,” Randle responded. “That’s just not true. Simple as that, it’s not true at all.”
Randle continued to express his desire to bring the Knicks a championship, but acknowledged the negative reactions from the home crowd was frustrating because they’re heard by his young son, Kyden, who often sits courtside at MSG.
“That’s probably where most of my frustration comes from. I have my 5-year-old son that’s there who is obsessed with the game of basketball, loves the game of basketball and he doesn’t understand what’s going on,” Randle said. “That’s probably my biggest frustration — coming from him. The time I sacrificed from him to put into this game.
“He’s daddy’s little boy. He loves his dad,” Randle continued. “So for him to experience that and him being uncomfortable and having to leave the games and stuff like that, as a father, that’s what bothered me more than anything. But at the same time, you have to understand it comes with the territory. The narrative can always flip. I understand that. I understand it’s New York City. I understand how passionate our fans are. You just kind of have to live with the good and the bad.”
Randle signed a four-year max extension after becoming an All-Star last year, but his game soon fell off dramatically and the frustration seemed to turn hostile with the referees, fans and opponents. Randle picked up a career-high 12 technicals this season and was fined multiple times by the NBA.
However, the 28-year-old said scrutiny over his walk-off Monday was exaggerated by the media.
“This is what you all do. It’s all good,” he said. “I understand it. It comes with the territory, bro.”
It hasn’t translated to his actions — at least not through much of this season — but Randle said all the right things Wednesday about his commitment to the Knicks.
“[New York] is a lot different than L.A,” said Randle, who played four seasons with the Lakers. “Some of it may because of recent success. L.A has recently won a championship and stuff like that. But that was part of the challenge of coming here. I wanted to see this city and organization win a championship. So it’s fine. I’m built for it, bro.”
