Tom Thibodeau Makes Honest Julius Randle Statement
On Sunday evening, the New York Knicks are playing the Minnesota Timberwolves for their third preseason game.
They are facing off against the Timberwolves for the first time since they made a blockbuster trade earlier this month that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota.
Before the game, head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke about the two players (h/t Ben Oppenheimer of WFUV News).
Thibodeau on Randle: "Five years and put a lot into it, and helped turn this thing around. I think there will be great appreciation for what he's done and also Donte. Donte made a significant contribution to winning last year. Terrific player. Both guys, great players, great guys, so a big part of what we did."
Thibodeau also added on Randle: "When you look at his game, and every year he's gotten better. He's very versatile, and probably the thing that gets overlooked is the play-making... Whatever role you ask him to play, that's what he's gonna do, and I think winning is very important to him."
When Randle signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2019, they had been among the worst teams in the NBA.
He helped them completely turn around their franchise and made three All-Star Games during his tenure in New York.
They have made the NBA playoffs in three of the previous five years.
Randle finished last season with averages of 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest while shooting 47.2% from the field in 46 games.
He has yet to make his Timberwolves debut.