'If You Want A Lesson, Don't Do Thumbs Down' - Every Knicks Fan Should Love That Julius Randle Is One Of Our Guys After This Interview

I know Julius Randle is polarizing. I know Knicks fans are split on him. Well, I'm in the camp that he has helped this franchise. Bold take, I know. The guy has embraced being a Knick, gone through all the ups and downs and takes everything that comes his way. I also love that he laughed about the thumbs down incident two seasons ago. He knows what it's like to play at MSG and how you not enjoy this?

At the same time, I'm well aware how much on the trading block Julius is. I get it. This is a guy who was an All-NBA player twice in three years, actually not a burden of a contract and can be damn good as a second or third option. It's all part of his game. You have to make sure he knows his role. Again, trust me, no one has watched more Julius Randle as a Kentucky/Knick fan. Times are tough. 

There also hasn't been a Knick to feed off energy like Julius in a long, long time. Jalen Brunson is stoic. Melo fed into it some, but we haven't had a guy who goes through everything fans do like Julius. He's the first guy to catch blame no matter what. Shit, people don't even bother to mention he was injured during this playoff run. He's also self-aware. That's what I like about him. He talks about how important it was they made a second round. Like I said, times are tough. 

So no matter what happens, trade or not, I'm all in on Julius. He was viewed as this afterthought free agent signing who helped at least make us somewhat relevant. He's had success. That part gets lost in the Julius story. Just don't do thumbs down to the fans. It doesn't work out well.