New York Knicks star Julius Randle finds himself in another controversy following a heartbreaking 21-point collapse in Los Angeles.
In a viral video that has garnered over 1 million views as of posting time, Randle is seen in a heated confrontation with Knicks video coordinator Scott King.
New York coach Tom Thibodeau brushed it aside when he talked to reporters following its Monday shootaround in Utah. Thibodeau labeled the confrontation as a ‘heat of the moment’ episode between two competitive individuals trying to win.
Tom Thibodeau on this interaction between Julius Randle and video coordinator Scott King: "That’s normal. Every team has it. It’s competitive people, heat of the moment. They’re good. They’ve got a great relationship." https://t.co/jm7HhK4ZnY
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) February 7, 2022
King joined the Knicks in the 2019-20 season as an assistant video coordinator after working as a video intern with the Detroit Pistons (208-19) and basketball operations personnel at Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana Pacers’ affiliate team, in the G League (2017-18).
While cooler heads (assistant coaches Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne) prevailed and prevented a full-blown physical altercation between Randle and King, it was another black eye on Randle, who is in the midst of a disappointing season marred by his statistical regression and exacerbated by his earlier media boycott, poor body language and a run-in with the referees and fans.
Randle’s name has recently come up in trade rumors as the Knicks are reportedly interested in Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox and Portland’s CJ McCollum. With just four days left before the trade deadline, Randle’s performance and behavior bear watching as the Knicks (24-29) continue their tough West Coast trip that will culminate in Portland on Saturday.
The Knicks are currently two games behind 10th seed Atlanta Hawks (25-28) in the competitive Eastern Conference.
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