ANALYST: Why Brooklyn Nets’ Julius Randle Could Be Heading For ALL-STAR Year | Optimal Floor-Raiser?

1. What do you expect from Julius Randle with the Nets this season? Do you think he'll be in the All-Star conversation?

2. Noah Clowney looked like he ripped 10 bongz right before the press conference

3. Good starting lineup.

4. The messaging you give for randle and MPJ are so vastly different and I can not understand it for the life of me. They both come here as salary casualties of their previous team, mpj actually helped the team he was on win a championship, they both clearly raise the floor, MPJ is a pure shooter who can play off ball or on ball, julius is a ball dominant big man who acts as a fulcrum on offense. You make it as if having MPJ for the future would be catastrophic but having randle is a no-brainer. Randle certainly deserves this opportunity and im happy hes here but to me randle is by far the more clear of the two that is not a part of what the nets should be building towards.

   As much as I love julius for this year and what he brings to this team specifically, he is the one that would need to make the biggest adjustments to his game to fit with this team as the young guys grow and develop. We want MBJ, Nolan, Ben, Egor, Danny, Drake, etc to all grow into players that are more comfortable with the ball in their hands. That would effectively take the ball out of MPJ and randles hands. MPJ has expressed a desire and willingness in the past to be an off-ball contributor, randle is notoriously less efficient in that role and that usually becomes the sticking point for when contending teams decide to move on. He would need to make a bigger impact off the ball as his career progresses. Maybe this is part of his plan but it hasnt currently been an overall strength. For this year, it takes pressure off the young guys because none of them have proven they are comfortable in that role yet. As time goes on, we will want the ball in the hands of the young players that emerge from the pack.

   Randle and MPJ both have said the right thing since the moment they became Brooklyn Nets and i respect the hell out of both of them just for committing to this process and being good soldiers. They each wanted to take initiatives as leaders in the offseason and you can tell the players are all more connected this year than I have seen in previous seasons.

   If its me, im playing this year with the intention of finishing it with MPJ and Randle just for the pure developmental impact they can have on the team. Around the trade deadline, put some feelers out for what a return for each would be (prioritize impactful pieces that fit the short and long term vision). If no deal gets done then MPJ will hit free agency and Randle will opt-in, offer MPJ a respectable contract for someone that is a fringe all star and a leader for your team (40-45m – you paid ben simmons 40m for like 3 seasons….), make a bet no one is offering him more than that.

   For randle, next season we should be looking for a trade partner because its not likely we resign him. If we cant find a trade partner we let him hit free agency and offer a more declining contract. At that point hes gonna be going to be turning 34 by the start of the 2028-29 season. To expect him to be an all star after that point is unrealistic. Expecting MPJ to be an all star within his next contract if we surround him with these ascending young players and start to win games is very likely.

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