5 Players the Hawks might replace De’Andre Hunter with by the trade deadline

Julius Randle would make the Hawks more versatile

Whereas Ingram ran into difficulties trying to adapt his game to the international style of play, Julius Randle has run into rough patches of his own with the New York Knicks. An All-Star and All-NBA selection in two of the last three years, he has also bumped heads with coaches, officials, and even his teammates.

This would be a volatile move, to be clear, posing a risk of blowing up in the Hawks’ face if Randle’s antics continue. But he is a three-level scorer as well as a capable playmaker and defender when his head is right.

Another former Los Angeles Lakers draft pick, Randle averaged 25.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 2022-23.

He shot just 34.3% from deep last season but that is a bump up from the year before.

The good news is that the 6-foot-8 power forward is a willing shooter, to say the least, which could make him a good fit for Quin Snyder’s three-point-reliant offensive system. Snyder’s Utah Jazz teams were typically at or near the top of the list in attempted threes, and Young has already said they expect to shoot more next season.

Randle, 28, is just entering the second year of a four-year, $117 million contract, and has not demanded a trade. But, as it has been with Ingram in New Orleans whom Randle also played for, trade rumors have floated around the Knicks big man.