RJ Barrett Sends Message To Julius Randle Following Knicks-Timberwolves Trade

RJ Barrett commented on Julius Randle's Instagram post.

Oct 2, 2023; Tarrytown, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) and New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) speak to the media during a media day press conference at the MSG Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

RJ Barrett and Julius Randle were teammates for part of five seasons on the New York Knicks.

They were two of the team's most talented players and were a significant reason for the Knicks becoming a consistent winner.

Barrett was traded to the Toronto Raptors during the middle of the 2024-25 season.

Jan 20, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) and Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett (9) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

On Friday evening, Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported that Randle is being sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal that lands the Knicks with Karl-Anthony Towns.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shams Charania (@shamsnba)

Following the news, Randle made a post to Instagram that had over 82,000 likes and 6,000 comments in four hours.

Randle captioned his post: "NEW YORK! THANK YOU 🙏🏿"

Julius Randle IG / September 29

One person who left a comment was Barrett.

His message had over 500 likes in two hours.

He wrote: "My brother 🙏🏾"

RJ Barrett's Comment / September 29

Randle finished his tenure with the Knicks averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest while shooting 45.0% from the field and 33.8% from the three-point range in 330 regular season games.

He also appeared in 15 NBA playoff games and made three All-Star Games.

Julius Randle on IG: “NEW YORK! THANK YOU 🙏🏿” pic.twitter.com/gsj1PWfOUh

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 30, 2024

As for Barrett, he was the third pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Knicks.

He finished this past year with averages of 20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest while shooting 49.5% from the field and 36.0% from the three-point range in 58 games for the Knicks and Raptors.

Jan 20, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett (9) brings the ball up court against the New York Knicks during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Knicks will play their first game of the 2024-25 NBA season on October 22 when they visit the Boston Celtics.